Kansas City Royals: What to Watch For in the Second Half

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

A major trade at the deadline

It seems as though quite the large faction of Kansas City Royals fans do not expect Dayton Moore to make a major trade at the deadline. It makes sense to have this expectation, especially since Moore has never made an earth shattering move at the trade deadline in his tenure in Kansas City. Why would he do so now?

Well, Dayton Moore has never been in this position at the trade deadline before either. Prior to this season, the best record that the Royals have had at the All-Star Break in Moore’s tenure was 48-46. It is certainly understandable as to why Moore would not have pulled the trigger on a potentially franchise altering move for a rental player to pursue a playoff push that was not necessarily going to happen.

This season, the Royals have been connected to some of the bigger names that could be available. The Royals have been linked to Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Ben Zobrist for possible rental players. In fact, the Royals have even been mentioned as possibly being interested in bringing back James Shields should the Padres make him available.

Instead of the quiet trade deadline that we have gotten accustomed to, the Kansas City Royals could end up making a few major moves in pursuit of another World Series run. It will certainly be interesting to see what Dayton Moore does at the deadline this time around.