The Kansas City Royals are likely heading toward being sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Entering Thursday, the Royals sit 15 games under .500, and there is no real reason to believe the current group can overcome so much adversity and turn the season around.
That is especially true given the state of the starting rotation, with all three of their All-Star starting pitchers currently on the injured list in Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Kris Bubic.
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With the trade deadline approaching, the Royals will likely begin fielding calls on their most tradeable pieces. One of the most intriguing names on that list is right-hander Michael Wacha.
Wacha is in the midst of another strong season. He is not an ace, but he eats innings at a rate that leads all American League pitchers with 94 total this year, and he has been one of the more consistent starters in the league.
Across 15 starts, he has posted a 3.64 ERA. He is not a big strikeout arm with just 72 on the year, but he limits hard contact and would be a valuable depth piece for any contender looking to add rotation depth. He is also on an appealing contract, with one more guaranteed year at $14 million in 2027 and a club option for 2028.
So what are the chances he actually gets moved? According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, it is essentially a coin flip, with Wacha sitting at a 50% chance of being traded.
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Passan notes that while Wacha would not profile as a frontline starter in a playoff rotation, he is a proven depth option, and with starting pitcher injuries as prevalent as they are across the league, that kind of reliability carries value at the deadline.
If the Royals do move Wacha, they could likely net a solid prospect or two in return, which would be more beneficial than keeping him around on a team with no playoff ambitions this year.
Wacha has spent the last three years of his 14-year career with Kansas City and has been a pleasant surprise throughout his tenure, consistently posting an ERA below 4.00.
Moving on from him would not be an easy decision, but for a franchise that needs to start building toward future seasons instead of 2026, turning his value into prospects at the right time is the kind of move that accelerates that process.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
