Encouraging early returns support Royals' choice not to replace this name at deadline

The Kansas City Royals addressed multiple major needs at the trade deadline, from their injury-plagued pitching depth to their inefficient outfield.

While they seemingly-checked all the boxes in an overarching sense, there are some specifics that could be questioned on whether or not they capitalized to the highest degree possible.

This really applied to their outfield, as while they undoubedtly upgraded in the corners with the acquisitions of both Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski, they opted to stick to their guns in center field with Kyle Isbel.

While Isbel is one of the best center fielders defensively in all of baseball - sitting seventh in DRS and sixth in OAA - his offense has some glaring holes, as he entered the trade deadline with a 72 wRC+.

However, in the first series post-trade deadline, Isbel has found his groove at the plate, rewarding his team for their continued faith in him.

Kyle Isbel's early August returns support Royals' decision not to replace him at the deadline

The Royals are riding some stellar momentum at the moment, having won their last four series and sitting just 3.5 games back of the final American League Wild Card spot after a big weekend road series win over the mighty Toronto Blue Jays.

And with the offense clicking, Isbel was one of the key cogs to the Royals' continued improvement at the plate this weekend. He's riding a three-game multi-hit streak, going 6-for-11 with a pair of RBI and striking out only once.

This means after the first series of August, he's statistically been Kansas City's most productive hitter for the month with a .600 AVG, 1.500 OPS and 323 wRC+.

Now, it's early in the month and it's not time to get carried away, as while he may have his moments with timely hits and provides a decent batting overage for a nine-hole hitter - he's hitting .260 for the season - he's still only an 82 wRC+ hitter for the year with a .669 OPS.

There were certainly opportunities for the Royals to move off of a player like Isbel at the deadline. Options like Harrison Bader and Luis Robert Jr. were seemingly both on the market - with the former getting moved to the Phillies on deadline day - which both could have demoted him to more of a reserve role.

Then, there's also the fact that J.J. Picollo and Co. weren't afraid to trade from the major league roster in order to strengthen other big league needs, case in point, the trade sending Freddy Fermin to San Diego for desperately needed pitching depth.

Comparing both Fermin and Isbel, they both are known for their decent averages but weak overall offensive profiles with their defensive abilities making up for their shortcomings at the plate. And Fermin is only a marginally above average defender at best, meaning there was reason to believe that perhaps Isbel and his world class defense could have been a surprisingly attractive name on the trade market given how weak center field can be compared to other positions.

But the Royals opted to stick with the current status quo in center field, and so far have been vindicated in doing so.

Now, for Isbel, the test will be if he can find a way to continue his torrid stretch at the dish look like a more capable bat at the plate. He'll get his first chance to do so against the Boston Red Sox on Monday, when the Royals roll into Fenway Park for a three-game series starting on Monday.