KC Royals seeing firsthand why they should be targeting this hitter at the deadline

The Kansas City Royals are in dire need of a boost on offense, as a recent horrendous stretch at the plate has magnified the overall shortcomings they've shown all season.

Whether it's a lack of power, a lack of ability to do the simple things like draw walks and take 90 feet, or struggling to cash in with runners in scoring position, what it all boils down to is the fact the Royals have looked inept at scoring runs - sitting 28th in MLB in runs scored.

As grim as things are at the moment, this team is still far too talented on paper all around to throw in the towel with this much baseball left.

Playing a team like the Athletics - who despite their success against Kansas City this weekend will likely enter the trade season as sellers - this series served as a prime scouting opportunity for the Royals to identify some potential offensive upgrades.

And with the performance that Luis Urías has put together so far through Saturday makes him an intriguing target in a potential area of need for Kansas City.

Luis Urias could be a prime target for the KC Royals at the trade deadline

The two biggest positional needs for the Kansas City Royals statistically at the moment are in the corner outfield and at second base.

In left field Royals hitters are managing just a .233 AVG and .626 OPS. In right it's even worse at a .195 AVG and .510 OPS. Finally, at second they're getting just a .230 AVG and .575 OPS.

Now the odds of the Athletics dealing newly signed franchise cornerstones like Brent Rooker or Lawrence Butler or the young defensive phenom in centre field in Denzel Clarke is extremely unlikely bordering on impossible.

However at second base the 28-year-old Urías - who's only on a one-year, $1.1 million contract - could be the prime target for a lot of teams ahead of the July trade deadline who are in search of an affordable yet still impactful infielder, especially with the young Zac Gelof likely projected to be the future at the position for the A's when healthy.

After back-to-back seasons hitting below the Mendoza Line, Urías now finds himself hitting at a respectable .247 clip with the corresponding .338 OBP and .408 SLG. And despite his hitting shortcomings, from an overall offensive standpoint he's working on his fourth above average season in terms of wRC+ in the past five years.

Pair that with the potential of double digit home run pop - including a 23-homer year back in 2021 in Milwaukee - and he really checks a lot of boxes the Royals could use as a hitter in general, second base aside.

And some of that extra base pop has been on display this weekend after Urías belted a solo home run in Friday's contest and followed that up with a key RBI-double in Saturday’s showdown.

Currently the lion share of second base work in Kansas City has gone to the now injured Michael Massey, but with a 25 wRC+ and -1.1 fWAR so far this season it might be time for the Royals to give up on the starting dream for him.

Perhaps Jonathan India could also be the answer at second, as he is after all a natural second baseman and has moved in from left field more recently in light of both Massey's offensive shortcomings and recent injury.

However, a good bat is a good bat. And India at a .668 OPS and 89 wRC+ isn't exactly having a ground breaking year for the Royals, making someone like Urías an intriguing option to pursue.

While all of this is speculative and it remains to be seen what exactly J.J. Picollo and the Royals front office have up their sleeves for this trade deadline, but they've been receiving quite the audition from a potential target on their home turf and that's pretty hard to ignore.