ESPN pitches absurd KC Royals trade with AL Central rival for All-Star outfielder

As the MLB gets closer and closer the July 31 trade deadline, trade rumors and speculative deals will be flying throughout this month.

Some of these proposed mock trades will be for names that a majority of baseball fans see as unrealistic options to be moved, or even flat out untouchable.

ESPN's David Schoenfield explored some of these wild potential deals, proposing trades for a trio of mega stars in Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes, Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr. and a familiar face to the Kansas City Royals in division rival Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Buxton was where the Royals came into play for Schoenfield, and as absurd as a inter-division trade for a superstar may be, it might be the proposed return of ace Cole Ragans and rising pitching prospect David Shields heading Minnesota's way that's the most baffling things about this mock trade.

ESPN pitches absurd trade between KC Royals and Minnesota Twins for Byron Buxton

There's no denying that the Royals are in desperate need of outfield reinforcements if they look to be competitive, as several potential upgrades have been linked to them in recent weeks.

However, as great as Byron Buxton has been for the Twins this year, it's hard to see them trading him at all, let alone to the Royals.

The Twins are well within the hunt for the postseason, sitting the same amount of games back of a the final AL Wild Card spot as the Royals are - 4.0 games back of Seattle. Sending not only an All-Star, but the best hitter in your lineup to a division rival - to whom you still have to see six more times this season - could easily be perceived as waving the white flag.

This precisely why Schoenfield believes the Twins likely wouldn't trade him.

"The Twins are under .500, but that doesn't mean they're out of the playoff race," Schoenfield wrote. "Buxton has been their best player and best hitter as he's on pace for a career high in WAR."

"Buxton's contract is also team friendly, as he's signed through 2028 and making $15.1 million per season," he wrote.

But putting the Twins perspective aside here, the proposed return Schoenfield has the Royals sending to Minnesota is a hard one to wrap your head around.

Ragans, when healthy, is undoubtedly the best pitcher in Kansas City's organization after breaking onto the scene with a 2.64 ERA in 2023, after being traded to KC from Texas at the trade deadline that year, and then finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting in 2024 with a 3.14 ERA season.

While he may not be healthy right now and has faced his fair share of struggles when he has been on the mound - posting a 5.18 ERA in 10 starts - there's still plenty of reason to believe that he's still every bit the ace the baseball world has come to know, posting a 2.41 FIP and 14.05 K/9 this season.

Then there's Shields, Kansas City's No. 7 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Pitching is an area of strength in their system, so perhaps the Royals would be willing to deal from their stash of arms. However, it would likely have to take the right player to deal an arm like Shields, who's in the midst of a stellar first professional season, as he's throwing to a 2.87 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 10 High-A starts.

Frankly, Buxton doesn't seem like that right guy to give up not only for one of your Top 10 prospects but your ace on top of that. Sure, he's undoubtedly an All-Star this season with a 140 wRC+ and 3.3 fWAR, but this is the first relatively healthy season he's had since 2017, when he played 140 games.

For someone that's been in the majors as long as he has (since 2015) to only be on the trajectory for his third 100+ game season, should be a red flag that should deter anyone from trading for him at all, let alone give up multiple extremely valuable assets in exchange for him.

The Royals could very well pull the trigger on bringing in an outfield upgrade, but I venture to say it will not be Buxton and certainly not for this price.