The Kansas City Royals were defeated once again by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. The good news is the game was closer than their brutal 22-1 loss to Chicago on Friday. Nevertheless, Kansas City was still defeated by a final score of 2-1 in a competitive game. Starting pitcher Michael Wacha did everything he could to give his ball club an opportunity to win.
Wacha allowed only one earned run across 7.2 innings of work on the mound. The right-handed hurler added seven strikeouts while surrendering six hits and one walk. The Royals’ offense did not help him, though, and he ended up with a no-decision.
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Still, Wacha has performed well for most of the season. He has been especially impressive in recent action, as Wacha has turned in three consecutive quality starts. Wacha allowed only one earned run across seven innings in his last outing against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the start before that, the 34-year-old surrendered three earned runs in six innings against the Washington Nationals.
Wacha now holds a 3.31 ERA so far this season. He has recorded 84 strikeouts across 108.2 innings of work as well. Wacha has emerged as a legitimate candidate for the American League All-Star team. Wacha has earned one All-Star selection before, but that came in 2015 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Regardless of whether or not Wacha makes the All-Star team, he is certainly having a good season.
The Royals fell to 34-50 with the defeat. They are in last place in the American League Central standings. While Kansas City won’t enter a complete rebuild given how much young talent they have on the roster, veterans like Wacha will likely be made available for potential trades.
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Wacha should draw plenty of trade interest. Many contenders would love to acquire a veteran starting pitcher with a proven track record. Wacha would probably receive interest even if he was not pitching as well as he is. The fact that he’s pitching at an All-Star caliber level will only increase his trade value.
While a trade is not guaranteed to come to fruition, it does seem to be likely. Unless the Royals turn things around over the next few weeks and become a contender, selling at the trade deadline will be their best option.
For now, Michael Wacha will focus on continuing to pitch for the Royals.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
