Leveraging Lugo's Trade Value

The time is now for the Royals to sell their reliable right-hander

Photo courtesy of AP/Julio Cortez

Seth Lugo is doing it again. Through 88.2 innings, the 35-year-old craftsman is plying his wily trade to a 2.74 ERA, 15th-lowest among MLB qualifiers. He’s keeping runners off base with a 1.08 WHIP and stranding them at a nearly league-leading 85.2% clip.

Some good fortune has gone his way, to be sure, evidenced by the high strand rate and .240 BABIP, but a bit of that “luck” is generated by constantly pitching to the edges of the zone and mixing 10 (tracked) pitch types, that in reality amount to closer to 15 with his penchant for changing speeds.

A front office that’s taken plenty of heat recently for its failure to bring in a bat (or three) can hang its hat on the free agent contract doled out to Lugo an offseason ago, a three-year, $45 million deal that includes next season’s $15 million player option. Simply put, it’s one of the biggest wins not only for this organization but for any in the sport over the last couple winters.

But with Kansas City (39-45, pending Monday night’s outcome in Seattle) descending in the American League standings, now with the fourth-worst record in the Junior Circuit, the Royals own perhaps the prized piece of this summer’s trade market.

The aforementioned player option is a formality at this point, sure to be declined — barring a devastating injury — that’ll put Lugo back on the open market this offseason. With 2025 going awry in a hurry, there’s only one practical option for KC: Dealing Lugo to the highest bidder.

To read the case for a Seth Lugo trade, including what the Royals may expect in return, become a paid subscriber today.