KC Royals Trade: Grading each deadline deal

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone and the KC Royals jettisoned plenty of veteran players with two months of baseball left. The fanbase went from fuming mad to pleasantly surprised in a matter of minutes after the 6 p.m. EST deadline passed. It looked like the Royals made no moves hours ahead of the deadline, but then news broke regarding pitchers Ryan Yarbrough and Scott Barlow. The two last-minute moves made the deadline feel transactional, with five trades between July 31 and Aug. 1.

The KC Royals addressed MLB and farm needs ahead of the trade deadline.

The moves added some new members to the top-30 prospect rankings while other moves add depth to the MLB roster. Some moves were better than others, while the trade deadline added some clarity for the remaining season and the upcoming offseason. Let's run down the Aug. 1 moves and grade each for the Royals.

The Royals kicked off the final day of trading with a minor trade with the Los Angeles Angels. Pitcher Tucker Davidson will get a chance to prove his MLB worth in the Royals bullpen. The biggest question is which Davidson will emerge in Kansas City.

The Royals acquiring a left-handed relief pitcher makes sense after the team traded José Cuas away. Cuas was not a world-beater out of the bullpen, but Davidson has the potential to be worse than Cuas. Davidson's 6.54 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, and .326 batting average allowed are all worse than Cuas' marks. The only metric that gives me hope is Davidson has a 3.37 FIP, far better than Cuas and better than the league average. The Royals may be able to find something there and give Davidson a decent infield defense behind him.

Davidson will quickly prove if the Royals were right to take a chance on him. He is set to join the 26-man roster as the Royals continue their three-game series against the New York Mets. This is not an impactful move, and cash consideration moves rarely are. Fans will wait and see if Davidson can hang in the bullpen, but there were other arms waiting in the wings who are ready.

Grade: D+

Ryan Yarbrough heads west

This trade between the Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers was unexpected, but a welcome update after the trade deadline passed. This is a trade that immediately benefits the Dodgers most, but the Royals capitalized on trading an arm with peaking value.

Yarbrough came to Kansas City with swingman expectations, as a long-relief arm or lower member of the rotation. His ties to manager Matt Quatraro helped his case for being a different maker in Kansas City. He started the 2023 season with little fanfare, then landed on the IL after a horrific injury. He returned from that injury looking like a different pitcher though. He has a 2.19 ERA across 24 2/3 innings pitched in four July starts. His only three quality starts came in that four-game stretch, and that performance turned him into an intriguing deadline candidate.

The Dodgers are loading up for the postseason push, so adding a versatile pitcher like Yarbrough makes sense. He has another year of arbitration before he becomes a free agent, only adding to his potential value. The Royals received infielder Devin Mann, now Kansas City's 26th-best prospect, and shortstop Derlin Figueroa. Mann has been tearing up the competition in Triple-A and he could help the Royals who need some offense and a first baseman for the time being. At 26 years old, Mann could be a late bloomer but he is likely a steady hand rather than an impactful MLB player. Figueroa is a wild card but resembles the lottery ticket approach that helps the rebuilding Royals.

Yarbrough staying in Kansas City for another year was far from certain, but moving him when he got hot stings. He gained value at the right time, but it is hard not to wonder how he could have helped the Royals' rotation further. But, the trade netted a plus-bat utilityman younger than Yarbrough and a legitimate prospect in a loaded Dodgers system. That return is hard to be mad about, especially as this opens a rotation spot for a younger arm, such as Cole Ragans.

Grade: B