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The General Managers Meetings are taking place in Las Vegas this week, a setting where teams often start conversations on possible transactions to be made later in the offseason. Jon Morosi of MLB Network<\/a> reports that the Royals are evaluating the outfield trade market.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a logical target for the club. The outfield in Kansas City has been a weak spot for years. 2025 was no exception. The team\u2019s outfielders had a collective .225\/.285\/.348 batting line this year. That resulted in a 73 wRC+, indicating the club\u2019s outfield group was 27% worse than league average. That was easily the worst mark in the majors, with the Guardians\u2019 jardineros second-last with a wRC+ of 77.<\/p>\n The current group in Kansas City includes Jac Caglianone<\/a><\/strong>, Kyle Isbel<\/a><\/strong>, John Rave<\/a><\/strong>, Dairon Blanco<\/a><\/strong>, MJ Melendez<\/a><\/strong>, Kameron Misner<\/a><\/strong>, Drew Waters<\/a><\/strong> and others. Caglianone came into 2025 as a top prospect but struggled badly in his first major league call-up. No one else in the group has any real track record of big league success either.<\/p>\n Upgrading there is an obvious way to improve the club overall. The trade market also makes sense as a way to go about doing it, considering the club\u2019s finances. About a month ago, owner John Sherman said that he expects<\/a> the 2026 club to have a fairly similar payroll to 2025. RosterResource<\/a> currently estimates the Royals for a payroll of about $140MM next year. That\u2019s slightly higher than the $138MM RR pegged their spending at the end of 2025.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t suggest the front office will have a huge amount of spending capacity. They could lower their commitments by non-tendering some of their arb-eligible players. Jonathan India<\/a><\/strong> has the highest projected salary<\/a> in the Royals\u2019 class at $7.4MM and he\u2019s coming off a poor season. The club could also perhaps trade Kris Bubic<\/a><\/strong> and his projected $6MM salary since the rotation could still be in decent shape without him.<\/p>\n Even if the club does pinch a few pennies, they\u2019re not going to suddenly become favorites for a big free agent like Kyle Tucker<\/a><\/strong> or Cody Bellinger<\/a><\/strong>. Re-signing Mike Yastrzemski<\/a><\/strong> is feasible but it\u2019s understandable that president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo would check to see what\u2019s available on the trade market.<\/p>\n Morosi mentions the Red Sox and Angels as possible trading partners. Those seem like speculative picks but they make sense. The Angels have a question in center field but have a crowded mix in the corners. Mike Trout<\/a><\/strong>, Taylor Ward<\/a><\/strong>, Jo Adell<\/a><\/strong> and Jorge Soler<\/a><\/strong> give them four options for three spots, between the two outfield corners and the designated hitter slot. Trout isn\u2019t going anywhere and Soler has negative trade value at the moment, since he is owed $13MM next year and is coming off a down season.<\/p>\n Trading one of Adell or Ward seems like the move for the Angels, as that could clear up the logjam while potentially adding some much-needed pitching help. MLBTR put both of them on our recent list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates<\/a> for this offseason. Last week, Morosi reported<\/a> that the Halos would indeed listen on Ward and Adell.<\/p>\n Ward has the better track record. He has essentially been a 20-plus homer guy for four years now. He only got to 14 long balls in 2023 but was limited by injuries to just 97 games. He just hit 36 homers in 2025 with a strong 11.3% walk rate to boot. Reviews on his defense are mixed. He\u2019s been credited with seven Outs Above Average in his career but minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved.<\/p>\n Adell got many chances with the Angels and didn\u2019t take advantage of most of them but he has shown some promise lately. He did 20 homers in 2024 and 37 this year. His walk and strikeout rates are poor, limiting the overall value of his offense, but he was still a decent contributor in 2025. His .236\/.293\/.485 line translated to a 112 wRC+. His defensive grades were poor in center but more passable in right.<\/p>\n Though Ward has the longer r\u00e9sum\u00e9, the trade value might be comparable. Ward is just one year from free agency and is projected for a salary of $13.7MM next year. Adell, meanwhile, is projected for just $5.5MM and can be controlled through 2027.<\/p>\n The Red Sox have a well-known glut of outfield options which currently includes Ceddanne Rafaela<\/a><\/strong>, Roman Anthony<\/a><\/strong>, Jarren Duran<\/a><\/strong>, Wilyer Abreu<\/a><\/strong>, Masataka Yoshida<\/a><\/strong> and Jhostynxon Garc\u00eda<\/a><\/strong>. Anthony signed a big extension with the club and isn\u2019t going anywhere. That\u2019s likely also the case for Rafaela, who also signed an extension and is an elite glove in center. Garc\u00eda isn\u2019t yet proven at the major league level but is optionable and swings from the right side, a potential asset in a lefty-heavy lineup.<\/p>\n Duran and Abreu are fairly redundant as lefty-swinging corner guys. Both cracked the aforementioned MLBTR list of Top 40 Trade Candidates for this winter. Duran has more big league experience and has shown a higher ceiling but he\u2019s down to two years of club control and will make $7.7MM this year. Abreu, on the other hand, hasn\u2019t yet qualified for arbitration and still has four seasons of club control remaining.<\/p>\n