Mike Gillespie

Kendry ChourioDavid ShieldsJosh HammondBlake MitchellRamon RamirezSean GambleDrew BeamCarson RoccaforteAsbel GonzalezYandel RicardoMichael LombardiJustin LamkinFelix ArrondeBlake WoltersSteven ZobacDaniel VazquezAustin CharlesKamden EdgeBen KudrnaCameron Millar

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. View full article

Royals pick up collegiate RHP Taylor Rabe at No. 30. Interesting selection. Sounds like a top-notch fastball tops his pitch assortment. He's started and relieved. Tommy John Surgery two years ago could be a concern, but this pick seems worth the risk.

So KC spends its first pick on an outfielder. Louisville's Zion Rose may not have projected quite this high (6th overall) but I like his power and speed a lot. And he fits an organizational need. His will be an interesting progression through the system to watch.

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Gavin Cross looked like a rising star when the Royals made him their first pick in the 2022 amateur draft. A spot in the Kauffman Stadium outfield seemed a lock for the Virginia Tech slugger. But just a shade past the midpoint of his fifth professional season, Cross’s battle to reach the major leagues continues. And at first glance, his cumulative 2026 stats at Triple-A Omaha suggest his big league debut won’t come this year — after going 1-for-4 and driving in a run against Columbus Sunday, Cross was slashing a mediocre .211/.293/.306 with just four homers, 19 RBI, and a .599 OPS in 70 games. Dive a little deeper, though, and you’ll find more to the story. Much like he did during last season’s second half at Double-A Northwest Arkansas (more on that in a moment), Cross has turned an ice-cold bat hot and revived thoughts that he is, indeed, what the Royals thought him to be when they took him with the ninth overall 2022 selection. His transformation at the plate after an agonizingly slow start to this season has been encouraging, and could have the Royals thinking about putting him on their list of candidates for September's roster expansion … or perhaps for an even sooner call-up. Royals Prospect Gavin Cross Came Alive in May Despite giving the Royals a nice show in spring training this year — he homered twice, knocked in seven runs, and hit .270 in 37 at-bats, and blasted a home run in the club's Spring Breakout Game — Cross seemed lost after moving up to Triple-A for the first time to begin the regular campaign. He went 1-for-15 in March and was slashing a miserable, homerless .100/.209/.154 when his .108 April came to a merciful end. Then came a 2-for-4 effort against Toledo on May 16. There was nothing spectacular about getting two singles, but that pair of hits triggered a special seven-game stretch — going 11-for-28 (.392). Cross hit safely in all seven Omaha contests and collected three hits once and two hits twice. The outburst improved his line from .128/.233/.162 to .179/.261/.262. But the good times didn’t end there. He finished with a .265 average for May, a remarkable 157 points better than he’d managed in April, and through Sunday was slashing .275/.359/.420 in 21 June games. Is Gavin Cross’ Turnaround For Real? That’s the big question. After all, the Royals have seen this before — Cross, remember, was hitting only .152 for Northwest Arkansas when the 2025 baseball calendar turned from May to June, but caught fire by hitting .291, belting a dozen home runs, and driving in 44 runs over the season's final four months. He finished the Naturals’ campaign with 17 homers, 64 RBI, and a .241/.291/.413 line dragged down by his awful start to the season. But those numbers confirmed he was capable of repeating the decent stats he’d put up the year before, when he posted a .342 OBP, batted a serviceable .261, homered 15 times, and drove in 59 runs in 109 games. So it is that this season is beginning to bear a striking resemblance to last for Cross. How the 2026 campaign will end for him remains to be seen, but if he keeps getting the job done at the plate, it just might give Cross his first taste of the major leagues. View full article

I understand the point, but the Royals can use Lugo and Wacha as a bridge to hopefully better times. Yes, they could pick up some decent starters in free agency, but I'm not confident they'll pay what's required to get those arms. Maybe they'll surprise me. A big thanks for reading and commenting. We always appreciate the conversations and look forward to having more.

Image courtesy of © David Dermer-Imagn Images Roughly three weeks remain until the All-Star Break gives most of the Kansas City Royals a few days’ relief from the deepening disappointment of their once-promising 2026 season. A bad bullpen, an improving but still wanting offense, and too many injuries to key players have the Royals stranded in, or at best near, the American League Central cellar. But the All-Star Break also marks that point of the summer when the trade market finally heats up — the August 3 major league trade deadline will loom large when the Break ends and regular play resumes July 17. Barring some astonishing reversal of fortune, the Royals will be deadline sellers. With his club on pace to lose 90 games or more, general manager J.J. Picollo won’t be looking for a playoff race roster edge; instead, he’ll be fielding calls from legitimate contenders searching for game-changing down-the-stretch help. Selling is, of course, easier and almost always cheaper than buying. Because contenders seek valuable, proven big-league players, selling enables weaker teams to reduce payroll, typically in exchange for much cheaper prospects who may be years away from the majors. But selling has its risks. Here are three Picollo must avoid. The 2026 Trade Deadline Isn’t the Time To Start a Royals Rebuild As disappointing as this team is, tearing it down to facilitate another painful rebuild isn’t warranted — the Royals aren’t very good, but their cupboards are far from empty. Bobby Witt Jr. is his usual self, and his season will sour only if his strained MCL turns into something worse. Jac Caglianone (.275, .349 OBP, and a club-leading 12 homers through Sunday) seems to be living up to the huge hype he didn’t live up to last year. Michael Massey (.266 with seven homers and good defense) may end up proving he belongs at the keystone. Maikel Garcia isn’t at the top of his game, but will be fine. Although a foot injury currently sidelines center fielder Kyle Isbel, his bat is better, and his defense remains excellent. And while injuries continue to plague Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic, starters Stephen Kolek (4-1, 2.68 ERA before St. Louis battered him Sunday) and Michael Wacha (3.64 ERA and 10 quality starts in 15 tries) have been good. Daniel Lynch IV is, with his steadiness and 2.53 ERA in 32 appearances through Sunday, the best in a troubled bullpen. The Royals have enough talent to form a good present and future core; they don’t require a complete overhaul. The time isn’t ripe for the kind of hasty, ill-advised, “burn it down” approach that will leave the roster weaker on Aug. 4 than it is now. But what about prospects, you say? The farm system needs help, but the bulk of its best prospects are two seasons or more away from Kauffman Stadium. At the same time, the big league roster isn’t that far from winning — now, and this winter, are the times to fine-tune it, not rip it apart and wait several long years for success. The Royals Should Not Blow Up Their Starting Rotation The potential for a rotation exodus exists. Bubic can test free agency for the first time this winter. Ragans’ recently-extended trip to the Injury List renders his future uncertain, veterans Wacha and Seth Lugo could be attractive at the deal deadline, and some teams are bound to offer up a good prospect or two for Kolek or Noah Cameron… or both. None of that, though, gives KC good cause to move multiple pieces of its rotation. If he’s healthy, trading Bubic makes sense — he’s liable to bolt in free agency and extending him a qualifying offer seems unlikely, so dealing him before August 3 guarantees the club more than the nothing he’ll net them if he opts for free agency. Beyond Bubic, the Royals can afford to stand pat. Ragans’ health poses serious questions, but the club shouldn’t give up on him yet. Wacha and Lugo are signed through 2027, and the club holds one-year options when those deals expire; both could play key roles next season when the Royals should be better. Kolek has been too impressive to dangle as prospect bait, and Cameron hasn’t done anything to imperil his starter’s spot. No, the Royals have a solid rotation, diminished this season only by maddening injuries to important pieces. The organization’s need for prospects isn’t so extreme that Picollo should break up his starters to get unseasoned arms not yet suitable for prime time. The Royals Shouldn’t Put Vinnie Pasquantino On the Trade Block A broken hamate bone has Pasquantino on the IL, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the market. His reputation as a slugger and 100-plus-RBI man is well-deserved (he pounded 51 homers and drove in 210 runs across the 2024 and 2025 campaigns), and after a slow start this season, Kansas City’s star first baseman was slashing .298/.365/.426 with a homer and seven RBI this month before going down June 13. That he could be back before the deal deadline arrives means he might be shopped. And even if he isn’t back, remember the Royals dealt Danny Duffy to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline when he was on the IL. Pasquantino, then, could be an attractive target who won’t break the banks of contending clubs hunting for more punch and production — he hits for power, drives in runs, and is playing on an easily affordable two-year, $11.1 million contract that runs through next season. Some might also argue that Caglianone makes Pasquantino expendable: first base is Caglianone’s “natural” position; he’s been superb there since Pasquantino went on the IL, and Pasquantino is eligible for free agency after the 2028 season. But Caglianone’s emergence as a big league-caliber hitter doesn’t mean his development is complete, and do the Royals really want to compound the difficulty of their continuing and frustrating search for more outfield offense by moving Caglianone to first permanently? And the club is better off offensively with both sluggers in the lineup. Deal Pasquantino? No. This is a team that shouldn’t be shopping for the kind of firepower Pasquantino can generate. Unless he’s faced with a phenomenal offer too great to reject, Picollo should listen politely, then turn down overtures for Pasquantino. View full article

Kendry ChourioDavid ShieldsSean GambleBlake MitchellJosh HammondRamon RamirezDrew BeamAsbel GonzalezBen KudrnaCarson RoccaforteYandel RicardoFelix ArrondeBlake WoltersMichael LombardiSteven ZobacL.P. LangevinDaniel VazquezFrank MozzicatoWarren ColcanoJustin Lamkin

Kendry ChourioDavid ShieldsSean GambleBlake MitchellJosh HammondRamon RamirezDrew BeamAsbel GonzalezBen KudrnaCarson RoccaforteYandel RicardoFelix ArrondeBlake WoltersMichael LombardiSteven ZobacL.P. LangevinDaniel VazquezFrank MozzicatoWarren ColcanoJustin Lamkin

Image courtesy of © Aaron Doster-Imagn Images Trading Jonathan Bowlan to Philadelphia for Matt Strahm seemed a reasonable thing to do when the Kansas City Royals pulled the trigger on just that deal back in December. Bowlan had been serviceable, but not consistently remarkable, in parts of three seasons for the Royals, while Strahm had become an accomplished big league reliever after KC, with whom he broke into the majors in 2016, dealt him away to the Padres during the 2017 campaign. A little more than six months after the Bowlan deal and almost three months into the Royals’ all-but-lost 2026 season (Monday’s loss to Washington dropped them 15 games below .500), Bowlan has overcome an early April groin strain and is 2-0 with a 3.92 ERA in 20 games for the Phillies, while an ugly 5.40 ERA mars Strahm’s 23-appearance, 3-1 record through Monday. It's a homecoming with little to celebrate. Bowlan is no longer Kansas City’s concern, but Strahm most certainly is — without improvement, the veteran left-hander could drive the club crazy when the midsummer trade deadline nears. Here’s why. Why Did the Royals Go After Matt Strahm? Kansas City’s interest in bringing Strahm home was understandable. The Royals needed some fine-tuning after a disappointing 2025 season that left them just a few wins short of a second consecutive trip to the playoffs. The bullpen wasn’t free of concerns as baseball’s winter began, and Strahm seemed like someone who could provide immediate help. He’d been quite good for the Phillies after joining them as a free agent after the 2022 campaign, posting an excellent 2.71 ERA across three seasons and 188 appearances. His 0.955 WHIP, 4.94 SO/BB ratio, 30.4 K%, 6.16 BB%, and 160 ERA+ were all good, and he won 17 games and saved 11. And he became an All-Star for the first time when he went 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA to help the Phils roll to the 2024 National League East Division title. But this season, his 11th in the majors, hasn’t been what Strahm and the Royals wanted when they gave up Bowlan to get him. Yes, he’s won three times and lost only once, but he’s surrendered 13 runs in 21 1/3 innings. Concerning, too, is his performance this month — through Monday, he’d given up home runs in each of his last four games and in five of his six June appearances. His ERA for the month was 10.13 (six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings), and opponents were hitting .273 against him. He blew a save by giving Jake Burger a leadoff seventh-inning home run in KC’s June 10 loss to Texas, and blew another Saturday night when, after hitting leadoff man Isaac Paredes in the eighth, he yielded a game-tying homer to Jose Altuve. The Royals lost 8-7. Strahm also had a 5.00 ERA in April. He improved to 3.18 in May, but it was a small sample size month — knee inflammation forced him to the Injured List for 15 days and limited him to just six appearances. And as Royals Keep writer Kevin O’Brien pointed out recently, many of his other 2026 peripherals are troubling. Will Matt Strahm Pose Trade Deadline Troubles For the Royals? Quite possibly. Because this is a contract season for him, Strahm was a likely midsummer trade candidate as soon as he arrived in Arizona for spring training. That he’s a veteran reliever increases the chances he could be moved by this season’s later-than-usual Aug. 3 deal deadline. But J.J. Picollo can’t trade without a trade partner, and unless it gets considerably better, Strahm’s body of 2026 work may well make it hard for KC’s general manager to drum up much interest in him — especially enough to net the Royals strong value in return. Combined with his unflattering stats, his age — 34 now, 35 in November — could also get in the way of any meaningful deal. It is unfortunate that Strahm may not size up as a viable trade candidate when the market heats up next month. Making matters worse is that he isn’t giving the club much reason to bring him back next season — without a trade, they may be left with little to show for giving up Jonathan Bowlan. View full article