Royals stick with Wacha as he hopes to bring success back to KC

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY -- From what we knew going into the Trade Deadline and what we know now that it has passed, the likelihood of Michael Wacha moving teams on Monday was very low. Whether you agree with the strategy or not, the Royals are sticking with their core and want to compete in 2027, and that includes Wacha in their rotation -- especially with how much work the Royals have to do to rebuild their pitching staff because of this year’s injuries. They didn’t want to also have to replace Wacha.

Even though it would have taken an offer that “wowed us and knocked our socks off,” for Wacha, as general manager J.J. Picollo put it, it can still be unnerving for a player to see their name in trade rumors. There’s uncertainty that this time of year can bring on and off the field with so many players on the move.

So Wacha’s corner locker still being in the Royals’ clubhouse Tuesday afternoon was a nice sight to see for both him and his teammates.

“I never really let myself dive into those rumors too much,” Wacha said. “It just feels good to still be here in Kansas City. We’ve grown to love this city, and we feel like it’s where we need to be. Extremely excited to still be here with these guys. I feel like we still have a great group of guys in here that know how to compete and know how to play baseball at a high level. That’s what I’m expecting moving forward.”

Wacha said he talked with Picollo “a little bit” leading up to the Deadline, with Picollo letting him know of any developments. But the Royals were as transparent with Wacha as they were with other teams and publicly: It was going to take a lot for them to move on from the starter. They were looking for Major League talent in return, and it was a high enough bar that conversations didn’t move forward much, if at all.

“Just hearing what he was conveying to me, it led me to believe that I’d still be here,” Wacha said.

Wacha has been one of the Royals’ best free-agent signings since he first came here ahead of the 2024 season. The 35-year-old has made 82 starts across the three seasons and posted a 3.58 ERA. This year, he was an All-Star and has a 3.51 ERA in 22 starts, with his next one coming on Thursday against the Twins.

Wacha has been remarkably consistent in his time as a Royal -- he’s posted ERAs of 3.35, 3.86 and 3.51 – and Kansas City will rely on that for the rest of 2026, into ‘27 and ‘28 for that matter, too, as Wacha has a club option the Royals could and likely will pick up. There might be some regression, and injuries are always part of the equation -- the Royals know how unpredictable those can be. But they are also betting on the innings Wacha can provide and the presence he brings to the mound and clubhouse.

“There's a lot of pitchers that have pitched into their mid-to-late 30s over the course of their careers that have pitched well, so we just have to weigh the risk,” Picollo said. “We did sign Michael Wacha to an extension. We did sign Seth Lugo to an extension. I think weighing that risk, it showed at that time where we were, we knew what we were committing to then into the ages of 36, 37. We weighed that risk when we signed them to the extensions.”

For what it’s worth, Wacha is committed to the Royals as much as they’re committed to him. And he believes in the same core that Picollo does for next year.

“You just look around the clubhouse: Bobby [Witt Jr.], Maikel [Garcia], Vinnie [Pasquantino], some guys that are coming back that are injured this year,” Wacha said. “We have a lot of optimism in those guys. We miss them out there on the field. It gives me hope that an offseason of getting healthy, another year of experience, that we can put it all together and go make a run.”