Did Seth Lugo just make his last start as a Royal?
Vinnie Pasquantino wants Seth Lugo to pitch for Kansas City down the stretch:
“I’d like to see him pitch for us again,” Pasquantino said while pointing. “I’d really like to see him in a Royals jersey in his next start. We’re trying to make that happen. That’s up to us.”
The Royals are one of the bubble teams in the American League, having picked up some ground on the wild-card leaders after taking two of three from the Cubs. But they are still three games under .500 as the MLB trade deadline approaches next week. Lugo would be an attractive player for another team, as he is set to become a free agent, assuming he turns down his player option for next season.
MJ Melendez made some swing changes in hopes of turning things around:
“I worked a lot on my swing,” Melendez said. “That was most of the reason why I got sent down. I was able to experiment a little bit. I had some struggles early on, just kind of trying different things out, and once I was able to find what works for me, I was able to kind of stick with that and just really adjust my process and get reps.”
Jeff Passan doesn’t think Kansas City will add at the deadline:
But Kansas City’s front office is realistic, and for every game that the offense looks good, there are three or four in which it doesn’t. Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the game’s best players. Maikel Garcia’s breakout season is real. Vinnie Pasquantino can hit. Jac Caglianone will. Salvador Perez still has it at 35.
Beyond that, the Royals need bats their farm system simply doesn’t have. So Lugo and his 2.94 ERA should wind up in a contender’s rotation, and the Royals could toy with moving a relief arm or two to help reboot the worst offense in the AL before they make another run at the postseason next year.
The Athletic ranks the top 50 trade candidates ahead of the deadline, including a couple Royals ($):
Top five saves since 2023, Estévez is a proven closer who’s remained effective despite losing a mph off his fastball this season. His strikeouts are down, and batted ball data suggests he’s been a bit lucky in run prevention, but he’s done a good enough job limiting base runners to be an All-Star for the second time in his career. Estévez is signed through next season with a team option for 2027, so an acquiring team would be banking on him remaining effective at last one more season.
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