Trade suspicions surrounding Royals starting duo could be nullified after Cole Ragans injury

With the AL Central standings, and American League in general, as wide as they are in the early going, despite a slow start, the Royals are still in the hunt for October despite sitting three games below .500. However, that hasn't stopped rumors surfacing on potential names they could end up trading away when the Hot Stove heats up this summer. Perhaps it's not easy to shake the damage that a 7-15 start brings.

Last weekend, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on a poll issued to 20 league executives that asked them who they felt was the biggest name most likely to be moved ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Amongst those names was the Royals veteran starting pitching duo Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, each of whom received one vote.

While all of this is dependent on whether the Royals are in a place of contention or not, there's another issue that seems to make this trade less believable at this point in time. Kansas City has very little pitching depth primarily due to injury. And now, after ace Cole Ragans was placed on the injured list Friday, it's no longer just the Royals depth that's taking a hit, the top half of the staff is under attack from the injury bug.

The precise severity of Ragans' injury remains to be seen, as while it's diagnosed as valgus extension overload now, history has not been kind Ragans when it comes to his health. The southpaw has undergone a pair of Tommy John surgeries already and lost much of the 2025 season to an oblique injury and rotator cuff strain, so fans can never feel to easy when he hits the shelf.

Given Ragans' bleak past with the injury, if the Royals want to be contenders again this season, the thought of trading one or two or even both their veteran rocks in Lugo and/or Wacha seems egregious at this point in time. It's hard to imagine this starting staff could remain afloat without them, especially with how unconvincing Noah Cameron has looked to start year two, how traditional a trade piece the expiring contract of All-Star Kris Bubic looks and with how inconsistent the run support for the offense looks for them from night-to-night.

Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha continue to age like fine wine for Royals in 2026

On top of simply their roles the occupy in this Royals staff, Lugo and Wacha have looked nothing short of excellent statistically to start the new season.

Lugo has been much closer to the 3.00 ERA arm that finished runner-up in Cy Young voting back in 2024. Through his first eight starts. the 36-year-old is throwing to a 3.21 ERA and 2.72 FIP, while also sitting second in baseball in limiting the home run, as his 0.19 HR/9 trails only Yankees southpaw Max Fried's 0.17 mark. In the newly renovated confines of Kauffman Stadium, that long ball control could be a real asset.

Then there's Wacha, who may not look quite like the near-league best arm he was in his first handful of starts this year, but through seven now, he still holds a very commendable 3.05 ERA along with a 4.06 FIP, 1.06 WHIP and .203 BAA. If all continues to got to plan for the 34-year-old, this would be his fifth straight season with a sub-4.00 ERA and fourth season in said five with a mark under 3.50. It's hard to only put a statistical value on that kind of consistency.

Unless there was a trade that blew the Royals' socks off, specifically one that got them better at the big league level, it's hard to imagine them trading from their well-regarded pitching staff if their still in a place of contention - especially when their top name is on the shelf for who knows exactly how long.

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