What Does Selling Look Like for the Royals?
The Royals aren't there yet because they don't need to be, but if they were, what do they even have to move?
Everybody is very quick to make a proclamation about what a team should do at the deadline. The second a losing stretch hits, the calls for “SELL” grow louder and louder. But the reality is that there is plenty of nuance for a team sitting in the middle of a very crowded pack. Yes, at this moment, the Royals are toward the bottom of that pack and trending the wrong direction, but I’m pretty sure the only American League teams to not have been declared sellers at some point this season are the Tigers and Yankees. That is NOT to say that I believe the Royals are going to turn it around and get back to the top of this crowded group. It’s just that they can.
To put it a different way, I don’t think a 34-38 team is buried. I think the Royals team, as they are currently constructed, probably are. Team construction can change, though. And the difference between the Royals having their run of looking like one of the worst teams in the league is coming at a time where they have far less time to turn it around before they actually do have to make a decision on how to proceed at this year’s deadline. They have 25 games left before the break. Here are the teams they play:
TEX - 3x
SD - 3x
TB - 3x
LAD - 3x
SEA - 4x
AZ - 3x
PIT - 3x
NYM - 3x
Every single one of those teams but Pittsburgh has a better record than the Royals. The Royals have played one of those teams already this year, Tampa Bay, and they’re 3-0 against them. Take that for what you will. But if they get to the break and they’ve gone 11-14, that puts them at 45-52. They’re still probably within striking distance, but that’s a tough hill to climb. If they go 14-11, suddenly they’re 48-49, which is still not ideal, but the schedule out of the break isn’t quite as daunting and they have plenty of opportunity to make up some ground. Just to put a bow on the time before the deadline, they have 12 games after the break but before the deadline against the Marlins, Cubs, Guardians and Braves. The Braves should be better than they are, but the Marlins stink and the Guardians and Braves are in basically the same boat as the Royals.
So that’s 37 games between now and the deadline. They can take every single one of those 37 if they want. They may not need to, but they can. And if, at the end of them, they decide it’s time to sell, they have a few pieces to move.
Pending Free Agents
You can make an argument that if you’re not going to win, you should be shopping every single player who isn’t under contract for the following season. Of course, team options play a role too, but half-assed selling doesn’t help anyone. If you know the guy isn’t going to be on your 2026 roster and you don’t believe you can win, then they should be moved.