4 rival players Royals hope are out of the division by end of 2025 MLB trade deadline

Despite making some moves to position themselves further into the contention category, the Royals still find themselves with an uphill battle if they want to make their second consecutive postseason.

They're certainly playing better baseball of late, going 14-9 so far in the month of July, but it's not all up to them. Sitting 4.0 games back of the final American League Wild Card spot with three teams standing in their way of that coveted playoff position, things aren't entirely in their control. They'll need a bit of help.

Perhaps that help could come from some familiar foes, who the Royals will end up seeing several times before the season ends.

The Cleveland Guardians, who sit ahead of the Kansas City Royals, could be forced into a position to sell after their star closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on leave amid a betting investigation.

Then, there's the Minnesota Twins who at 5.0 games out of postseason spot could be in play for a postseason spot themselves. However, with even more teams in front of them to jump in the postseason race and their star of the lineup in Byron Buxton hitting the IL on Tuesday, their path to October looks a lot steeper which could force them into selling.

If that's the case, there are a few names that the Royals will hope the Guardians and the Twins trade away, preferably out of the AL Central in order to make life a little easier on them and their postseason push down the stretch.

4 rival players Royals hope are out of the division by end of 2025 MLB trade deadline

OF Steven Kwan - Cleveland Guardians

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Monday that the Cleveland Guardians are out of the mix when it comes to buying at the deadline.

"The loss of closer Emmanuel Clase to non-disciplinary leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting did not simply deprive the Cleveland Guardians of their top trade chip," Rosenthal wrote. "It ended any chance of the Guardians becoming a buyer."

He'd go on to list that Kwan as an option that could possibly be moved by Thursday, with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres as potential fits.

All of these would certainly be beneficial ones to get them out of the division while weakening a direct Wild Card contender in Cleveland. The three National League teams would obviously be ideal, especially considering the Royals still have six games remaining against the Blue Jays this season.

Kwan has been a headache to opposing teams once again, as he's in the midst of his second consecutive All-Star season. He's slashing .287/.351/.411 with a 115 wRC+ and 2.7 fWAR.

SP Joe Ryan - Minnesota Twins

If the Twins are sellers, their most prized asset will be undoubtedly be their newfound ace in Joe Ryan.

It remains to be seen whether or not Ryan will be traded. While there may be plenty of buzz around Twins GM Derek Falvey told Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic that talks haven't advanced anywhere quite yet and Ryan himself told Gleeman that he "would like to stay" of it were up to him.

However, the Royals will hope that in their six remaining games against the Twins' Ryan will not be on the mound to start against them. Perhaps the hope will be that he'll be pitching for one of the five teams Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports are interested in him - the Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners and Phillies - except again maybe not the Blue Jays who play them as many times as the Twins do down the stretch.

Ryan has been sensational this season, throwing to a 2.82 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and .200 BAA in 121.1 innings of work, resulting in his first career All-Star Game appearance.

RP Jhoan Durán - Minnesota Twins

Sticking with the Twins but moving to the bullpen, Durán might be the top closer on the market, now that Clase is on leave until at least the end of August and Baltimore's Félix Bautista is on the injured list.

And for the case of the Royals inconsistent offense, if Durán is no longer coming in to close out games, perhaps the Royals will have a shot to stage some late game magic their remaining six matchups versus Minnesota.

The fireballing Durán has been linked to teams outside the central such as the Seattle Mariners, as per MLB.com's Daniel Kramer on Tuesday, which other than the fact they're in the Wild Card mix, would still be beneficial for the Royals sake to have him out of the division.

Through 49.1 innings across 49 outings, Durán is trowing to a 2.01 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .216 BAA.

RP Griffin Jax - Minnesota Twins

Then there's Durán's partner in crime in Jax, who again would be someone the Royals would ideally not like to face as much as possible.

Jax has been going through a down year - posting a 3.91 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and .238 BAA - but a 2.00 FIP, a 100th percentile chase rate and 99th percentile clip in both K-rate and whiff rate, show he's still not an arm to be reckoned with in the late innings.

Jax was named in the same report from Kramer of MLB.com, and if a trade like that happens to surface and be accepted by the Twins, the Royals will certainly be basking in their good fortune that potentially two of the leagues' most prominent relief arms could be on their way out of the division.