Royals fans should be breathing easier after Yankees, Rockies make trade

The Kansas City Royals couldn't have asked for much more from Maikel Garcia during his official rookie season in 2023. Playing alongside shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the young third baseman hit .272, drove in 50 runs, stole 23 bases, and led American League third sackers in two critical categories. But his sophomore campaign left much to be desired — although he led the Royals in steals with 37, he slashed only .231/.281/.332.

Now, though, Garcia is having the best season of his short major league career. Heading into Saturday's home weekend series doubleheader with Cleveland, he was batting .291 with a .345 OBP, 116 wRC+, and 2.6 fWAR. He also had a career-high eight homers and had stolen 19 bases. And he made the American League All-Star team for the first time. Only a July slump mars what is otherwise sizing up as a stellar season.

But Garcia's status as one of Kansas City's only bright spots at the plate hasn't prevented speculation that he might be traded. Rumblings recently surfaced that the Royals could market him before next Thursday's trade deadline, a possibility that ought to trigger justified anxiety among the club's faithful.

Fortunately, the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies relieved some of that anxiety Friday afternoon.

Yankees, Rockies strike deal that should be good news for Royals fans

Whether the Yankees had Maikel Garcia on their list of trade deadline targets isn't known with certainty, but he could have helped them offensively and defensively. But considering what happened Friday afternoon, it doesn't look like the Royals' third baseman will be headed for The Bronx anytime soon — in an interleague trade confirmed by both the Yankees and the Rockies, the Rockies gave up third baseman Ryan McMahon to get Yankee pitching prospects Josh Grosz and Griffin Herring.

Whether the exchange fully satisfies the Yanks' hot corner needs remains to be seen. McMahon's .217 average is considerably below his career .240 mark, but with 16 homers, he's on pace to at least equal, and probably eclipse, the almost 22 he averaged over the four seasons immediately preceding this campaign.

But whether or not McMahon turns out to be what the Yankees want him to be is of no real concern in Kansas City. The New York-Colorado deal takes one possible Garcia trade destination out of the mix. And for Royals fans, it's a transaction that should have them breathing easier as their club fights to stay in postseason contention.