3 Questions Royals Must Ponder During the All-Star Break

[Mike Gillespie]

Image courtesy of © Pablo Robles-Imagn Images / © Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images / © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Ravaged by injuries, beleaguered by a bad bullpen, and plagued by a chronically inconsistent offense, the Kansas City Royals lost their fifth straight game Sunday to drop a season-worst 21 games under .500, then limped out of Baltimore and scattered for the All-Star Break with a firm, perhaps unbreakable, grip on last place in the American League Central.

As convenient as it might be, the Royals can't blame injuries alone for their failures and flaws. Tough questions, unfortunately, too numerous to cover in a single read, must be resolved before next season begins. Here are just three the club should ponder over the All-Star Break.

Should the Royals Have Tyler Tolbert On The Trade Deadline Market?

No. The more he plays, the better he looks, and he’s the kind of role player the club typically covets — he’s versatile, speedy, and capable of swinging a pretty nice bat. Add to that mix the five more full seasons he’s under team control, and Tolbert is a player worth keeping.  

Tolbert’s numbers tell the tale. Boosted by his recent major league record-tying streak of hitting safely in 12 straight plate appearances, he’s slashing .370/.407/.500 with a 152 wRC+ and .907 OPS in 32 games. He hit .280 in 64 games during his big league debut season last year.

His 10 steals are second on the club, only to Bobby Witt Jr.’s 30 this season. He swiped 21 bases in 23 attempts in 2025, and he boasts 95th percentile sprint speed.

Tolbert also gives manager Matt Quatraro valuable defensive options. He’s played everywhere on the field except first base and catcher. No Gold Gloves seem to be in his future, but his defense is serviceable.

Could Tolbert attract attention as the August 3 trade deadline approaches? Certainly — he’d give contending clubs some game-changing speed in late-inning situations, and down-the-stretch defensive flexibility.

But because he’s a role player, not a starter, he won’t net the kind of big, major league-ready return the Royals need if they hope to get back in the playoff hunt next season. Best to keep him.  

What Should The Royals Do With Luinder Avila?

The issues troubling Kansas City’s rotation dictate the answer to this question. Injuries have sidelined Cole Ragans for this season and a significant part of next, and Kris Bubic for who knows how long. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha have struggled at times, and Noah Cameron, while respectable in his present work, isn’t quite the success story he was in 2025. All that leaves Avila’s June switch from the bullpen to the rotation a move that will likely last.

And that’s alright. Despite heading to the pen after giving up five runs in a three-plus-inning start against Milwaukee in KC’s seventh game of the season, and Houston battering him for eight runs in just two-thirds of an inning in his third start after returning to the rotation June 1, he’s holding his own as a starter.

In fact, he’s 3-0 with a 3.65 ERA and 22 strikeouts in five starts and 24.2 innings since the Astros clobbered him at The K a month ago. And although his overall nine-start ERA is 5.87, it would be a much more palatable 4.06 without that catastrophic outing against Houston.

Avila’s spot in the rotation, then, is pretty secure. That’s also where, notwithstanding some not-so-subtle fan and media sentiment to the contrary, the Royals seem to prefer him to work. Yes, his control and command require improvement (he’s walking 13.7% of batters he faces and almost 5½ every nine innings), but he’s been serviceable during his club’s tough times.

Look for Avila to finish this season and begin the next in the rotation, 

Can Michael Massey Hang On To His Royals Job?

Second base has long been a KC concern, but Massey appears to be waging a successful battle to regain the position he seemed to have won in 2023.

That’s the season he hit only .229 but cracked 15 homers and drove in 55 runs across a 461-plate appearance, 129-game campaign. He also sparkled defensively, finishing among the top American League second basemen in OAA in the American League and with the top second base fielding percentage in the majors.

And despite the troublesome back that trimmed his 2024 season to just 100 games, he still homered 14 times and improved his average to a more than acceptable .259.

Still, the Royals weren’t sold on Massey and traded for Cincinnati’s Jonathan India after the season ended. The move seemed somewhat prescient when Massey spent much of the 2025 season on the Injured List.

But despite the high price they paid for him — it took sending Brady Singer to the Reds to get him — India wasn’t the keystone solution. He disappointingly slashed .233/.323/.346, hit only nine homers, and his 89 wRC+ left much to be desired. And now, he’s out for the season after suffering a shoulder subluxation in April.

Massey, though, is making the best of the situation in which India’s shoulder injury placed him. Remaining relatively injury-free, he’s hitting .260, his seven homers have him on pace to finish near his decent 2023 and 2024 totals, and his nine OAA are tied for the best in the AL and tied for third-best in the majors.

Simply put, and barring a disastrous finish to his season, the second base job should be considered Massey’s. Declaring it so frees up the Royals to pursue greater needs at the trade deadline and during the upcoming offseason, and allows them to move on from India, who’s eligible for free agency when the World Series ends.

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[Kevin O'Brien]

Great piece and some interesting thoughts. I'm okay with keeping Tolbert as well. I don't think he's going to command a whole lot, and I think he's worth a longer look. That said, he feels similar to Freddy Fermin in that he may get more than expected in a trade. Considering the Royals' lack of trade assets, I think they should go for it if that presents itself. 

Avila has done much better since moving to the rotation full-time. While his ultimate outlook may be a reliever, I think he's done a fine job and has been one of the more dependable arms as of late. With Wacha and Lugo's futures unknown, holding on to Avila in the rotation for the remainder of the year and into 2027 makes sense.

Massey will be an interesting one. History says the injury bug will come, but he's stayed healthy this year for the most part. He's been such an upgrade defensively at second over India, and offensively he's produced similar production to India. I'm not sure what Massey's long-term outlook is, but I agree with you and think he deserves the second base position for now.