I think we were all disappointed in the 2020 trade deadline. The Royals only made two trades. They had assets to trade that would help teams pursuing postseason dreams and we were all excited to see what new prospects this would bring us. Now, in no way are we disappointed in Lucius Fox, Edward Olivares, and PTBNL, but we just wanted more. After all, at RFR we cover prospects.

The Royals don’t make trades just to make trades. This is a concept that we know and have recognized in the past. The Royals will only make a trade if it makes sense for the organization. The benefit of the trade has to outweigh the negatives of the trade. When it came down to it, the Royals didn’t feel that they had any deals offered that the positives outweighed the negatives.

Alex wrote a great article yesterday about how the Royals couldn’t afford to stand pat heading into the deadline. His point was the Royals could help accelerate the contention process if they were willing to deal some guys who probably won’t be around when the team is in contention again.

Greg Holland made the most sense to deal even though his return may not have been a lot. You don’t know what relievers will be from year to year, case in point, Ian Kennedy. Last year, Kennedy would have netted a few solid prospects but this year no one wants him and he got hurt. Even if you are just getting international slot money in return, there is value in this because the Royals can sign multiple players to invest in their future. After all, Edward Olivares who we just traded for in the Rosenthal trade, was signed for just $1,000.

It was disappointing not to see more deals because we feel it may have slowed down the future contention of this organization. Many of these players will probably not be around when we content again. Hopefully the moves made pay off and help the organization move forward quicker rather than later.