It may be a new week, but it’s the same headline dominating the Royals news sphere. This of course is their dire need for outfield upgrades.
And while the usual suspects are certainly still at the center of the rumor mill, a new trade target has emerged and the Royals might be the perfect team to make a play here.
According to Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Houston Astros appear to be exploring the idea of trading center fielder Jake Meyers “for a controllable major-league starter.”
“The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and [Tampa Bay] Rays are among the teams exploring upgrades in center field, along with the [Baltimore] Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals,” Rosenthal and Woo wrote.
Could Jake Meyers be a solution for the Royals in the outfield?
Does Meyers fit the exact profile the Royals are looking for? No. He’s not a corner outfielder and doesn’t offer much in the power department.
That being said, he would provide an outfield that’s dominated by left-handed bats with a right-handed option. And while Kyle Isbel has proven to be an elite Gold Glove-caliber defender, his bat leaves a lot to be desired after posting a .654 OPS and 79 wRC+.
After a season where he hit .292 with a .727 OPS, just a 17.9% K-rate and an above-average 107 wRC+.
Outside of the bat, he also helps the Royals improve their baserunning, which was certainly lacking in 2025. He stole 16 bases and posted an above-average BsR at 0.4 which may not seem like much but it would certainly help improve Kansas City’s bottom third -4.1 BsR mark last season.
On top of that, he’s also an excellent defender at the premium center field position, sporting 5 DRS, 9 OAA and a FRV of 8.
So, while he may not be the guy to take over as Jac Caglianone’s right-handed platoon partner, perhaps between him and the left-handed Isbel, the Royals could bolster their outfield offense in a unique manner and field a formidable outfield platoon pairing of Isbel and Meyers in center field.
And if it’s a controllable major league starting pitching the Astros desire, the Royals certainly have names to offer.
While he doesn’t necessarily warrant a return that anyone from Kansas City’s veteran trio of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha would garner, nor is it likely the Royals would part ways with a ROY-caliber name like Noah Cameron for an outfielder after his first above-average year offensively since 2021, the Royals starting list doesn’t stop their.
While Bubic would be the ideal candidate to move here, his one year of team control doesn’t match the Astros asking price. In that case, perhaps arms like Ryan Bergert or Stephen Kolek, who are still in their pre-arbitration years and are fresh off impressive showings with the Royals after joining them at the trade deadline, could be enticing for Houston.
Time will tell whether or not this is an avenue the Royals would be willing to explore, but with a projected $3.5 million price tag in 2026, as per MLB Trade Rumors’ projections, he offers a cheap an impactful solution to the outfield on multiple fronts, even if it’s not quite the fit they had in mind.
And they can’t say they don’t have the resources to get a deal done here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
