Royals' trade for former Marlins sixth overall pick offers exact upside system desperately needs

The trade deadline may be over, but not all trade avenues are closed. Teams can still trade minor league players right now and the Kansas City Royals took advantage of that on Wednesday when the swung a trade with the Miami Marlins. The Royals acquired utility prospect Jacob Berry from the Marlins in exchange for cash considerations.

At first glance, Berry's name carries a lot of weight to it. He's only four years removed from being the sixth overall pick in the MLB Draft as a standout bat at LSU. That being said, since he posted a 119 wRC+ in 33 games at Low-A after being drafted in 2022, Berry has been an average to below-average hitter, not nearly coming close to living up to the potential a Top 10 talent should have.

However, the Royals don't need him to be a Top 10 talent like the Marlins needed him to be, nor did they pay the price to get a prospect of that nature. The Royals need depth in the upper minors that could potentially play a factor for them this season or when their competitive window hopefully re-opens in 2027 and beyond. And there's reason to believe the 25-year-old can be just that for them.

This season hasn't been great for Berry, but he's at least looked like average hitter at the Triple-A level for the second straight season after a 104 wRC+ season in 2025. This year in Triple-A, Berry has played in 72 games slashing .251/.372/.362 with four homers, 34 RBI, 18 steals, a 15.2% walk rate, 14.2% K-rate and a 103 wRC+.

Jacob Berry could answer a lot of utility questions for Royals in near future

As mentioned earlier, the expectations for Berry in Kansas City shouldn't be nearly as high as they were for him in Miami. In Kansas City, he's a minor league farmhand acquired for cash considerations. In Miami he was projected to be name to transform their system as a Top 10 pick.

In this regard, his positional versatility should be what really excites Royals fans, not his prior pedigree. Apart from being a slightly above-average hitter, Berry has made appearances all around the diamond in his minor league career. In the infield he's manned second and third base primarily with a smattering of time at first base. Then in the outfield, he's primarily been a corner outfielder with some brief time spent in center field.

This season the Royals have had some decent success when it comes to utility bats with both Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert having above-average seasons. However, neither of them have been able to string consecutive strong seasons together in the big leagues. And looking deeper, the likes of Josh Rojas and other minor league names haven't offered them much of anything, so adding more names to the fold, especially one with the potential of Berry, can only help their cause.

Berry offers the most upside out of any of these names. The best case scenario is that he lives up to his Top 10 potential and becomes a force to be reckoned with in the majors for years to come. At worst he's a gamble that came at little cost and can at least fill out minor league depth for the time being. Anything in-between could see the Royals stand to benefit and that's a major win for their future plans. And after a lackluster trade deadline, they needed a win.

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