Latest J.J. Picollo remarks will have Royals fans fearing nightmare deadline scenario

The Kansas City Royals still have plenty to decide on ahead of Thursday's MLB trade deadline. Will they adopt the role of buyers and add more beyond Adam Frazier? Will they sell and focus on the 2026 season and beyond? Will they do a combination of both and deal names like Seth Lugo to bring in offensive help?

The one thing that Royals fans likely won't want to hear is that they'll remain content with what they have and do nothing.

That's why GM J.J. Picollo's comments ahead of Kansas City's eventual postponed game against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday were potentially frustrating to hear.

J.J. Picollo's latest comments could indicate lack of action at upcoming trade deadline

Speaking to media in the dugout on Friday, including Fox 4 News Kansas City's Harold R. Kuntz, Picollo addressed that despite some recent trades around the league past few days, the market is developing slow.

He said conversations have been had with other teams, but nothing substantial enough to think a deal could be imminent.

Then, as he did a few weeks ago, the Royals GM gave somewhat of a non-answer when addressing whether or not this team would be buyer or sellers at the July 31 deadline.

"I don't think we're buyers or sellers," he said. "I think we're in the business of getting better."

While getting better sounds like something the fanbase can get behind, he elaborated by discussing what the roster they currently have, seeming content with it based on recent production.

"I think we have a good team right here," he said. "We believe in a lot of the guys we have."

"We're starting to see signs of the offense coming to life which is really what's been missing all year," Picollo said. "So we're as confident as we've been in this team."

Now, he went on to re-iterate his desire to make this team better and didn't distinctly shut down the idea of making a move, but it's hard not to be concerned with how confident he seems to be in a team that's underachieved more often than they've impressed.

What's even more concerning is when asked about standing pat at the deadline, Kuntz reports that Picollo is open to the idea.

"It's not a bad thing," Picollo said. "At the end of the day, if this is club we have, this is the club we have. We have the pitching, we have the offense that we think can improve."

Confidence in your guys is not a bad thing by any means and it's not as if Picollo is completely out in left field in his feeling of belief in this squad.

They're coming off an impressive road series win against the Chicago Cubs to put them 11-7 in July. They've scored seven or more runs in four of their last six games and sit in the top-half of the league at 12th for the month in runs scored - a huge difference from the offensive form that saw them enter the month ranking dead last in all of baseball for runs scored.

However, one decent month fueled by a strong six game stretch doesn't completely erase the over three months of offensive turmoil this team has put the fanbase through this season.

And while maybe not in the size of this current spurt, this offense has shown up in inspiring ways this season, such as their franchise record setting seven homer game back on May 4 against the Orioles, and we all know how things came crashing down just a week later.

This offense has had it's ebbs and flows, but the poor outweighs the good and a single small sample size of recent wins should not be enough to think that this team is magically fixed all of sudden.

They have the assets to get a deal done, whether it be through their strong major league pitching depth with a potential rental arm like Lugo, or through a pool of rising prospects, including a wealth of desirable catching depth.

If the Royals want to contend, they have to bolster this roster, that while recently strong-looking is still very vulnerable. There's no way around it.

Standing pat should simply not be an option.