3 struggling players Royals should avoid selling at upcoming trade deadline

If the Kansas City Royals are sellers this trade deadline, they may be one of the weaker such teams. The roster has plenty of sensible targets on expiring contracts, like outfielder Lane Thomas or the struggling reliever Matt Strahm, or the large contracts of pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. The young core should not only be safe but off limits this trade deadline, such as shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., outfielder Jac Caglianone, and catcher Carter Jensen. But the injuries to a number of Royals, namely pitcher Kris Bubic, have soured Kansas City's trade deadline outlook.

There should be little conversation against a fire sale at the coming deadline. The aforementioned untouchable players should be easily agreed upon, but there is a tier of players who are not untouchable and still should not be traded this summer. These players are not likely to fetch large trade returns, but are still so poor or on the outside of fans' favor that many will be open to them wearing a different uniform in August. It does not matter how long or how short their tenure in Kansas City has been.

For better or worse, let's take a look at three Royals who should not be untouchable, but the Royals would be better off keeping for the rest of 2026.

Salvador Perez means too much to the Royals organization to quit on him now

There should not be any contending teams lining up for the services of catcher Salvador Perez, to be clear. That is painful to say less than a year after Perez posted 30 home runs and 100 RBI in 2025, but the veteran has tanked at the plate this season as he deals with a litany of injuries. While Father Time was coming, it hit Perez hard in 2026, to the point where each fan going to Kauffman Stadium should wonder if their visit will be the last time they see the World Series champion in the field.

Perez is only here because he has been so poor at the plate and sporadically available that some will want him off the 26-man roster by any means necessary. For a team claiming to be more transactional than their predecessors, that would not be out of the question in reality. But there is a people and legacy aspect that should stand above the red flags for the rest of 2026.

Perez is still chasing Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise home run record of 317. Perez has 11 home runs this season, giving him 314 in his MLB career. It is well within striking distance with more than 65 games to go, given that Perez stays healthy for the rest of the summer and Kansas City plays him less behind the plate. Plus, in an era where fans are quick to decry players moving from team to team and claiming they have no loyalty, Perez is a rare case of a long and storied career all taking place in one organization.

If nothing else, picture Perez wearing a different uniform this August and September, only for him to still be going home after game 162. It would be kicking the catcher while he is down, and as his home country deals with recovering from an earthquake, is moving Perez the morally or ethically right thing to do? Something for fans, and the front office perhaps, to chew on.

Lucas Erceg seems better served righting his wrongs in a Royals uniform

The Royals are sorely missing last year's saves leader Carlos Estévez right now, but the righty has not looked right from the word go this season. That reality put more pressure on last year's primary setup man in pitcher Lucas Erceg. The Royals trade for him had worked for the past two seasons, with Erceg accruing 2.3 fWAR, 28 holds, and 13 saves across 84 appearances in Kansas City. But much like his bullpen peers, things have not quite been right for Erceg this year.

The former Athletics closer has not dropped off a cliff in velocity, and batters still put the ball on the ground more often than not against Erceg, but it all comes down to his command. Erceg is posting a career-worst 1.19 K/BB this season, thanks to a horrendous 15.6% strikeout rate and middling 46.7% zone rate.

Batters are not chasing pitches against Erceg anymore, simply because he cannot put away batters in two-strike counts. 33.8% of his pitches this season have been in such situations, ranking in the 91st percentile for relievers, but only 11.9% of his two-strike pitches result in strikeouts, ranking in the 5th percentile.

Erceg may not be blowing games or allowing as many runs across the past month, but he is still walking more batters than he strikes out. The Royals have not given him many high-leverage spots to work in lately thanks to the team's overall struggles, and there are too many red flags for a contender to justify giving up assets of note for Erceg at the trade deadline.

Even if a contender did ignore them, the Royals would have to look at a player controllable through 2030 with three minor league options remaining, one who they gave up multiple top-30 prospects for less than two years ago, and say now is the time to move on. It just does not seem like the time for such a move.

Isaac Collins was already too valuable to move, but may now be finding his footing

Speaking of disappointing players, the reviews of outfielder Isaac Collins' first season in Kansas City will be mixed at best. The former Milwaukee Brewers standout was the best long-term addition Kansas City made to the outfield this offseason, so the pressure was already high for the late bloomer.

While Collins' recent hot stretch will push his trade value back up from where it was earlier this summer, the Royals would be better off not falling into temptation and holding onto Collins.

Collins has hit safely in nine of his last eleven games since June 26, a stretch in which he is slashing .333/.444/.600 with six extra-base hits and has raised his batting average from .225 to .237. It has been a good run for Collins, even if he is continually batting far down the lineup. The Creighton product is not suddenly a different player overnight, but he is doing what the Royals brought him in to do, just better: stay disciplined at the plate, get on base, keep it moving.

Like Erceg, Collins is another player Kansas City has multiple years of control left on. For a team that could stand to use free agent dollars elsewhere this offseason, trading away a player with multiple pre-arbitration years yet, playing at a MLB level, seems foolish. Add on the fact that Lane Thomas and Starling Marte may not be in Kansas City much longer, keeping Collins around should open up more opportunities for him. Collins is also a player who can benefit from the Royals being a bad team willing to tinker, whether that be moving him up to the leadoff spot for the right matchup or testing his infield utility chops as well.

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