Royals make decision on trading Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Kansas City Royals have the second-worst record in the American League.
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That would make some of their veterans seem like obvious sell candidates, including pitchers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.
Lugo and Wacha would both be solid right-handed additions to teams chasing playoff spots.
Teams might have to look elsewhere, though. The Royals seem to be standing firm.
“The Royals, according to people briefed on their plans, are telling clubs they will listen on Lugo and Wacha, but their asks will be massive,” The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote on Thursday.
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The Royals might not compete this year, but they’ll still have the righties around for the future, and they don’t plan to all of a sudden turn into a rebuilding ballclub.
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“A year ago, the Royals knew Carter Jensen was nearly ready for the majors, making (Freddy) Fermin expendable,” Rosenthal writes. “They have no such potential replacements for Lugo and Wacha. And with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and third baseman Maikel Garcia signed long-term, they do not plan to rebuild.”
Lugo has struggled, so the Royals are better off hoping for a bounceback from him anyway.
Wacha is the guy who could bring back great pieces. If the Royals dealt him, they’d probably want young pitching as part of the return, someone who can potentially fill Wacha’s role.
“Would a team meet the Royals’ desire for multiple top prospects to acquire him?” Rosenthal wonders, then concludes, “Seems doubtful.”
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That might make the Royals less active at the deadline than most bottom dwellers would be — and they’ll have to hope that’s the right call for their future.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
