2 expiring contracts Royals fans can expect to be traded by deadline, 1 they might be stuck with

Today's the last chance for teams to make their final trade tweaks and adjustments before the clock strikes midnight (well, 6 p.m. ET). For the Royals, their trade deadline strategy appears to be set in stone. While many fans may want to see what an impactful return they can get for names like Michael Wacha or Seth Lugo, considering they want to compete in 2027, the odds of that coming to fruition are slim to none.

This means that they will likely be sticking to their strategy of trading only expiring contracts that won't have any bearing on their competitive ambitions in 2027. They've already moved on from one of those names in Lane Thomas, sending him to the Braves on Friday night and maximizing it to pretty solid degree with a few names that can bolster their pitching depth.

So, who's left? Who might be next? There are three more prominent rental names left on the roster that could be traded. Some seem more likely to move and some may see the Royals hard-pressed to find a return.

John Schreiber has middle relief appeal for a contending bullpen

Beyond Thomas, Schreiber was the rental name most commonly associated with a trade away from the Royals before the deadline. Just last week, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported that the Royals were actively looking for a new landing spot for the veteran right-hander.

At first glance, a -0.5 fWAR may look undesirable, however Schreiber is outperforming his expected metrics heavily, which has to count for something, right? It looks as though he's on pace for his fifth-straight full season of work with a sub-4.00 ERA.

Now, is he someone that a contender should trust in high leverage situations down the stretch and in the postseason? Perhaps not. But is he someone that can jump in in the fifth, sixth or maybe seventh and induce a groundball or two and find a way to get out of the inning? Absolutely.

He'll be cheap, and has proven to be effective for years now. Someone will surely bite before the day is done.

Starling Marte could bring veteran presence to bench looking to make October push

Another veteran who seems poised to add veteran depth to a contender's postseason push is Marte. His -0.3 fWAR and 71 wRC+ isn't ideal, however, perhaps that's just a product of the brutal offensive environment he's been in on this lowly Royals squad.

Prior to this season, he'd only ever been a below-100 wRC+ hitter two times since debuting in 2012 in Pittsburgh. He may not be the power and speed threat he once was when competing for All-Star nods in his prime, however there's still glimpses of that (more so the power) that can come out at times.

And there's been aspects to his season at this dish that have been worthwhile for a bench piece. He's still hitting to a respectable .250 AVG with a barrel rate (8.9%) and bat speed (72.6 mph) that's at least average-looking. And you can't put a number on the value his prior postseason experience can bring to a clubhouse.

Matt Strahm's immense 2026 struggles may not be desired on trade market

Then there's Strahm, who despite his brutal return season the Royals this year recently was still rumored to be potentially be on the move. However, the bad numbers cannot be overlooked.

He's throwing to a putrid 7.32 ERA, 7.13 FIP, 1.49 WHIP and .269 BAA. His K/9 rate is down to 7.57 from a strong 10.11 mark in 2025 in Philadelphia, his BB/9 is up to 3.53 from 2.89 and his HR/9 rate has skyrocketed to 3.03 from 0.72. There's many reasons to believe this has been the worst season of his career.

Now, he did enter the season with a ton of potential and is a lefty with All-Star pedigree, so perhaps someone will be willing to take a chance on him as a change of scene candidate. However, with how stark a downfall as he's had this year, it's not unreasonable to think that the Royals may not get any bites.

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