The Royals need offense in a big way if they want to stay in the AL Wild Card race. That much is clear, especially with the Royals now 34-34, the first time they have been .500 since they were 15-15 on April 29th. Furthermore, they will need more hitting to make up for the loss of Cole Ragans, who went on the IL (retroactive to June 8th) due to a rotator cuff strain.
Right now, it’s a bit too early for clubs to make MAJOR trades.
While Taylor Ward, Luis Robert Jr., Cedric Mullins, and Josh Naylor may be popular trade pieces who could make sense for the Royals’ lineup, those discussions likely won’t happen until July, after the All-Star Break.
That said, I am always curious about hitting “projects” who either aren’t getting enough opportunity with their current clubs and/or on teams that will be heavily selling this summer. Teams that are likely open to “trading” business now are the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Sacramento Athletics, and Miami Marlins. All five clubs have losing records and low playoff odds, according to Fangraphs.
Let’s take a look at four hitters, one from each team, who could be a reasonable fit for the Royals right now and may not take a ton in trade capital to acquire.
(Trade simulation data courtesy of Baseball Trade Values.)
JJ Bleday, OF, ATH
Bleday seemed untouchable last offseason, especially after he hit 20 home runs and put up a 120 wRC+ in 642 plate appearances. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old outfielder, it’s been a different story in 2025 in Sacramento, their new home for the next couple of years.
In 53 games and 211 plate appearances, Bleday has seven home runs, but he’s hitting .201 with an 89 wRC+. His K rate is up 1.8%, and his .168 ISO is 16 points down from a year ago. Sacramento’s hitter-friendly environment should theoretically improve his outlook for the remainder of the 2025 season.
That said, it seems like he’s lost favor in the Athletics lineup, as Roster Resource has him as a bench player, and he was briefly optioned to Triple-A on May 23rd.
With Nick Kurtz in Sacramento, Brent Rooker has played more right field recently, and Denzel Clarke and Lawrence Butler have been more dynamic options than Bleday recently. Furthermore, they also have veteran Seth Brown and Miguel Andujar, who is having a better season this year, could be a better option for the Athletics when he returns from the IL.
Bleday could be a corner outfield option who could give the Royals some much-needed pop from the left side. The barrels, EV, hard-hits, and sweet-spot metrics are low, but perhaps a change of scenery could benefit him (much like it did the first time around when he went from Miami to Oakland).
He showed glimpses of that power on June 9th with a pinch-hit home run in Anaheim.
In terms of what to trade, the Athletics need pitching. The Royals could deal Ben Kudrna and Steven Zobac for Bleday. Kudrna and Zobac have shown flashes, but they may fare better in another organization (and would likely get an earlier opportunity to debut in MLB as well).
Bleday could be a good fit in LF or RF for the Royals, which could push Jac Caglianone from RF to more innings at DH or 1B, which may be a better fit for him considering his experience at the latter position.
Mike Tauchman, CWS, OF
Unlike Bleday, Tauchman is performing well and has been a catalyst for the White Sox at the top of the lineup. He’s not the most athletic player, especially defensively. That’s a significant reason why his fWAR numbers have remained low, despite strong wRC+ marks (he achieved a 111 mark in 2024 and a 109 mark in 2023 with the Cubs).
However, the 34-year-old native South Sider could be a hitter who provides some stability either at the top of the batting order or in the middle of the lineup (if they want Jonathan India to remain at the leadoff spot).
This season, Tauchman is slashing .274/.400/.507 with a 156 wRC+ and 0.94 BB/K ratio. I wrote yesterday about the Royals’ on-base and power problems. Tauchman would solve both of those issues.
At his age, he lacks considerable long-term appeal for a potential club. I wonder if the White Sox would be interested in a Gavin Cross for Tauchman swap, especially since Cross is ten years younger.
Cross’ numbers aren’t significant right now (.181 average and 43 wRC+ in 235 plate appearances). However, he had a solid season a year ago (.261 average, 14 home runs, 30 stolen bases, 114 wRC+), and he seems to be trending in the right direction at the plate.
Would White Sox GM Chris Getz be interested? It’s possible, especially since the White Sox lack high-profile outfielder prospects right now in Double-A or Triple-A.
Mickey Moniak, COL, OF
The first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, Moniak’s career hasn’t exactly gone as planned.
In 332 career games with the Phillies, Angels, and now Rockies, Moniak has a slash of .228/.272/.403 with 30 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and an 81 wRC+. Even in Colorado, the 27-year-old has been mediocre with a 72 wRC+ and .292 wOBA in 173 plate appearances.
That said, he has six home runs, a .188 ISO, and his .319 xwOBA is 19 points higher than his actual mark. At the very least, there’s some power and hard-hit upside with Moniak, even if it may not be consistent.
The Rockies are in desperate need of pitching, and a possible option could be Daniel Lynch IV, whose value matches quite closely to Moniak’s on Baseball Trade Values.
Now, some Royals fans may be hesitant to trade Lynch, especially since he’s been one of the better lefty relievers in the bullpen over the past two years. While his ERA is 1.97, his FIP is 4.55, and his K-BB% is paltry at 2.5%. Furthermore, his arsenal doesn’t profile well on a stuff-end as well, as evidenced in his TJ Stats summary card.
I don’t see Lynch as a long-term, high-leverage reliever for this club, and one could argue that Angel Zerpa is starting to gain ground on him for that role. Furthermore, Evan Sisk has shown flashes of promise, even if the command and control have been somewhat inconsistent at the MLB level.
The Rockies would likely bring Lynch back into the rotation, which would give him more incentive to be part of such a deal. Thus, the Royals should capitalize on Lynch’s current high value and acquire someone like Moniak, who possesses budding power and a strong prospect pedigree.
Jesus Sanchez, MIA, OF
I have been a fan of Sanchez for a while, especially after watching him in a three-game set last summer at Kauffman Stadium (I saw all three games against the Marlins).
Even though he’s had a small stint on the IL, Sanchez has been a productive force for the Marlins at the top of their lineup.
In 193 plate appearances, the 27-year-old outfielder has a .259/.337/.394 slash with five home runs, 26 RBI, seven stolen bases, and a wRC+ of 105. Like Tauchman, the defense has been somewhat suspect, as evidenced by his -2.4 Defensive rating and 0.4 fWAR. However, I wonder how much of that is due to the hamstring injury he had earlier in the season.
Sanchez should provide much-needed power for the Royals’ lineup. His barrel and hard-hit rates are solid at 10.2% and 46.1%, respectively. Furthermore, his average EV is 91.4 mph, his 90th EV is 107.1 mph, and his Maximum EV is 113 mph. The only blemish is his 28.1% sweet-spot percentage, which ranks in the lower percentiles.
Despite those launch angle issues, he has the speed and athleticism to stretch out base hits, making him an ideal fit with Kauffman Stadium’s spacious confines.
The price for Sanchez should be the highest of any of the targets in this post. However, the Marlins need pitching, especially with Ryan Weathers out for the season and Max Meyer again on the injured list.
Even though they are on the IL, I could see Miami being interested in arms like James McArthur and Alec Marsh as well as Blake Wolters, a second-round pick who is currently pitching in Low-A Columbia.
To even out the trade, I had the Marlins throw in Christian Roa, a reliever currently in Triple-A. He seems to be the kind of arm that the Royals could do some work with in Omaha.
To me, the deal is a win-win for both sides.
The Marlins acquire two potential long-term rotation options and a reliever who could be their closer in 2026 (note that their current closer, listed on Roster Resource).
As for Kansas City, they acquire a dynamic and much-needed bat (who has two more years of club control after this season), as well as a reliever with modest upside who could factor into the bullpen mix next season.
Photo Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP
We are basically shopping tve distressed merchandise aisle. I have a suggestion… We have a surplus at catcher. I would recommend trading Vermin and promoting either Mitchell or Jensen to fill that void. Fermin & Lynch should net us a better performer in the OF. Toss in Massey, and we could expect a real full time starter with .280 BA, .320 OBP. Particularly if they’re blowing up the roster.
I don’t disagree but I don’t think Fermin has as much value as he did last year. The offense has kinda tanked. I do agree though that we need to find a way to bring up Jensen, who’s proven to be too good for AA.
[…] talked about some possible outfield trade targets last week that wouldn’t cost the Royals a ton of trade capital. While they would carry some risk (they […]