With Trade Deadline looming, refreshed Royals come out of the break on a tear

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals seemed refreshed when they reconvened at Kauffman Stadium on Friday afternoon after the All-Star break, and their play the past two days now has reflected it.

Following their wild walk-off win on Friday, the Royals beat the Padres, 6-1, on Saturday to earn them just their second series win in their last seven sets. Not much has gone right for the Royals (40-59) this season, but these back-to-back victories out of the break have them feeling more confident in the type of baseball they want to play -- and they hope they can just build on it, no matter where it leads them down the stretch.

“I think it shows a little bit of fight,” center fielder Lane Thomas said. “We know we’re in a little bit of a hole and have to do it relatively quick, and I feel like it’s a good time to start.”

Despite the record, there are plenty of things to learn over these final 63 games of the season, including the continued improvement of such young players as Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, both of whom contributed to Saturday’s win, and stronger second halves from Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, whose 315th career homer on Saturday brought him just two away from tying George Brett’s franchise record.

But first comes the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline and how the Royals attack it.

“Being prepared but then reacting to where the interest lies: That’s going to be our path,” general manager J.J. Picollo said.

Kansas City will get calls about the players on expiring contracts, such as Thomas, who improved his stock again on Saturday with his second homer in as many days and is red-hot. In 13 games since July 1, Thomas has a .340/.400/.740 slash line with eight doubles and four home runs -- and his 12 extra-base hits lead the Majors.

There will be interest in relievers John Schreiber, Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange, too. But the most intriguing part of this Deadline will be what the Royals decide to do with their two veteran starters, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, the latter of whom is probably the Royals’ best trade chip this year. But trading them away is not so simple.

“Those [are] two guys we’re going to count on,” Picollo said. “We already have needs in our rotation. We’ll be open-minded to anything. But we have to be very, very pointed in what we want to get out of any one of those two. And also, they made a commitment to us. I think that’s important to the morale of the team. Where you have two guys that have done what they’ve done in their careers, and they want to be here.

“With that being said, teams want to talk about them -- it’s never going to hurt to at least listen. I think those guys understand that.”

Teams are always looking for pitching at the Deadline, and Lugo and Wacha represent something teams covet -- innings and durability. Wacha, an All-Star this year, has had a better season, with a 3.77 ERA and an American League-leading 119 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old is making $18 million this year and $14 million in ’27, and has a $14 million club option for ‘28. Lugo’s contract is harder to swallow solely based on the year he’s had, with a 4.39 ERA across 20 starts. He’s making $20 million this year and next, with a $20 million vesting option (or $17 million club option) for ‘28.

Kansas City will already have rotation needs to address this offseason because of the injuries to Cole Ragans (UCL repair) and Ryan Bergert (UCL reconstruction). Starting depth in the upper levels of the Minors is going to be one of the targets at the Deadline. Trading Wacha and/or Lugo only exacerbates that need, and the Royals do not want to drastically shake up their core despite the disappointment of 2026.

But the Royals also need to make upgrades on their Major League team, from pitching depth to supplemental pieces on offense that will help their core. Major League- or near-MLB-ready talent is the priority, and the Royals can use this Deadline to find it.

“This is an opportunity right now, from now to Aug. 3, to help that core,” Picollo said. “... If we can knock off some things that will help not only our Major League team but maybe even the organizational depth -- we’re really good in A-ball and down. We’re not as strong in the upper levels. If it were to be prospect-y type guys, our targets would be upper-level guys who naturally are closer to the Major Leagues and could join this core at some point.”