3 roster holes Royals still need to fill heading into 2027 after painfully quiet trade deadline

After the dust has settled on the Kansas City Royals trade deadline results, the potential future impact feels lackluster at best. That is what happens when the moves reflect as much, and several expiring contracts are left on the roster of a clear seller. It is frustrating, it does not help the bottom line, and it does nothing to potentially help the future.

This is not to say the Royals are not making the correct moves after the trade deadline. Designating reliever Matt Strahm for assignment or letting Aaron Bummer elect free agency are the right decisions for a team looking to see what they have heading into 2027. But the remaining work to be done is vastly understated.

Here are three roles the Royals still have massive holes at that they need to address following their trade deadline results.

Royals still need bullpen help, whether it's depth or not.

The Royals have a bullpen problem. That statement is something all fans with something between their ears should be able to agree on. The relief corps has talented individuals, ones that should be shoo-ins for the 2027 roster, but they lack consistent options for the 26-man roster and depth beyond that waiting in the wings.

Think about it. Veteran Matt Strahm is gone. John Schreiber is a pending free agent. There is no way the Royals pick up Carlos Estévez's $13 million club option after his horrendous calendar year. That leaves what? Hope that Lucas Erceg returns to closing form? That Alex Lange is consistent when he has not been? That Nate Pearson finds control when he has not in years? The list goes on and on, with no semblance of a reliable reliever right now in Kansas City's 2027 bullpen.

The Royals have made moves in the past week to add to the relief wings, such as acquiring Carlos Duran and Nolan Hoffman via trade, or picking up Connor Thomas and Luke Little off waivers. Toss in Easton McGee and Mason Black, and the Royals have a solid bunch of pitchers with the same questions.

The reality is that the remainder of this season is evaluation time, which is why manager Matt Quatraro is tossing Aaron Bummer and Pearson on the mound in leverage innings. Baseball knows these guys can throw pitches, but can they be quality contributors? Only the opportunity will answer that question for sure.

Let's say the best-case outcome happens and all the Royals' current bullpen stopgaps look like they belong on the 2027 roster. How would Royals fans feel going into the season with Erceg as the ninth-inning option after the season he has had? How would Lynch's luck hold up once the heat is turned up? The Royals still have work to do to add to the top options out of the bullpen, and to the options waiting in Triple-A and Double-A.

Their minor moves at the deadline had a minor positive effect, but competitive teams do not wait and hope for the best. They ensure a weakness is addressed once the next season rolls around.

Royals have lukewarm situation at hot corner beyond Maikel Garcia

Kansas City has been without Opening Day third baseman Maikel Garcia seemingly for longer than his actual date landing on the injured list. Fresh off his extension, the Venezuelan was not living up to the standard he set in his 2025 breakout performance. Since then, the Royals have had a revolving door at third base with no solution on the horizon outside Garcia's return to form.

Since Garcia landed on the IL, utilityman Nick Loftin has been the favorite at third base while veteran Josh Rojas has mixed in at the position. Both are able ballplayers, bringing something to the table that can help one of 30 MLB teams. But neither is an option that feels like the optimal move for a team vying for a postseason appearance to have as an Opening Day starter.

I bring up that doom-and-gloom scenario because of Garcia's ever-changing injury situation. After another injection in his hand, what is the final solution that will get him back to 100%? It seems the jury is still out on that one, and barring a strong end to the season from Garcia being back on the field, Kansas City needs some kind of insurance policy at third base. Running it back with Loftin and Rojas does not provide that, and there is not a player waiting in Triple-A to fulfill that need.

The Royals did not add any position players at the trade deadline, only exacerbating the post-deadline need. There will usually be a crop of multi-position guys who can hold down third base in a pinch, a la Brandon Drury or Abraham Toro, but those are hardly sturdy solutions to the current problem.

Royals' starting pitching picture looks as confusing and bleak as ever

Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo cited competing in 2027 as the reason for holding on to veteran starters Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo at the trade deadline. However, injuries have piled up in the starting rotation depth looking ahead to next season. While the Royals cobble together starts to close out the 2026 season, they must ask what options they have to do the same in the first half of next year.

Granted, Kansas City did add a solid starting option in Lucas Braun in the Lane Thomas deal. The righty tossed a quality start in his first outing at Triple-A Omaha, living by his high-control, low-stuff process. Braun is an exemplary depth starting option, but think about all the Royals starters Kansas City will certainly not have to start next season.

Cole Ragans. Ryan Bergert. Stephen Kolek. Luinder Avila. Add on Alec Marsh, who has not pitched since 2024, and there is an entire rotation's worth of missing arms. Those are the pitchers Kansas City will be without to start the season, and they have to round out a rotation and then some before Opening Day.

Wacha, Lugo, and Noah Cameron are near shoo-ins to be on the Opening Day roster. But the fourth through eighth options are still unfilled. Henry Williams has not looked like even a Triple-A arm thus far, the Royals' best starting prospects are still levels away, and the team lacks some roster flexibility to take a Rule 5 flier at this point of the roster construction process.

The Royals' front office made it sound like finding starting options is extremely difficult to do season over season. Well, they will certainly have to do that ahead of 2027 if they want to be a competitive ball club.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow