Félix Bautista’s injury could force Royals to confront this trade reality

While a recent hot streak might have the Kansas City Royals hoping that they can be buyers, an injury to Félix Bautista might have made the price tag for Carlos Estévez too high for GM J.J. Picollo to ignore.

Bautista, the Baltimore Orioles' closer who was expected to be one of, if not the top, closers on the trade market ahead of the July 31 deadline, has been shut down for the time being with a shoulder injury.

While other good closers still likely remain available, there won't an abundance of them on the open market, meaning it's almost a certainty that teams will be calling the Royals about Estévez. And some of those teams might come calling with offers that are simply too good for Picollo to ignore.

Carlos Estevez trade value for Kansas City Royals spikes after Felix Bautista injury

The reasons for not trading Estévez are obvious. Right at the top of the list is that he's not a free agent this winter. The Kansas City Royals will have him back next year, assuming he's not traded, and potantially the following season due to a club option for 2027.

And it's clear even if Kansas City can't make the playoffs this year, that they're close enough to warrant the idea of going for it in the meantime. It's not that easy to find a closer a team can rely on. That's obvious when looking at the trade market after Bautista.

However, the reasons to trade Estévez are obvious too. His remaining contracted years and All-Star worthy performance make him one of the Royals' best trade chips.

Considering that they would rather not trade either Kris Bubic or Seth Lugo if they don't have to, KC's closer might be the odd man out if they need to deal a proven big leaguer in order to make a big offensive splash.

While his overall body of work in 2025 may be good, there's also the argument that he hasn't been all that dependable a closer of late. In July, he posted a 5.63 earned run average. More notable is that 3 of his 6 blown saves in 2025's campaign have come this month. Might it be a good idea to ship
Estévez off for some players that could help the Royals make a run next year rather than hang onto a closer who hasn't done a great job of closing lately?

The injury to Bautista has effectively muddied the waters for the Kansas City Royals, and it's not like things were all that clear before.