Knowing what they do now, perhaps the Kansas City Royals would have waited until after the season to make the big, surprising move.
In the weeks leading up to July 31, Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo became one of the most talked-about names on the trade market. With a resume that includes a second-place finish in the 2024 American League Cy Young Award voting, not to mention a 10-pitch arsenal that The Athletic has called “one of baseball’s deepest portfolios,” Lugo figured to bring the Royals a pretty decent haul of prospects from a contending team looking to bolster its pitching staff.
Plus, Lugo seemed destined to re-test the free agent waters once the 2025 season ended. The 35-year-old right-hander had signed a two-year, $30 million contract with the Royals before the 2024 season, which included a $15 million player option for 2026, but as he continued to post solid starts, Kansas City continued to fall below the .500 mark.
Certainly, Lugo would take advantage of the opportunity to bank on his recent success and push for what would likely be the last multi-year contract of his MLB career. And certainly, Kansas City would take advantage of a seller’s market and trade Lugo for future assets rather than watch him walk away after the season.
Instead, Lugo and the Royals collectively threw the industry a curve.
Seth Lugo Surprises Industry by Signing Contract Extension With Royals
On July 28, Lugo signed a two-year contract extension with Kansas City worth a guaranteed $46 million that included a vesting option for 2028. If Lugo throws a combined 335 innings over the next two seasons or 190 innings in 2027, the third year is locked in, giving Lugo the chance to earn a total of $63 million over those three years.
“After being here for a year and a half, me and my family just fell in love with the city,” Lugo said at the press conference.
“Kansas City is such a pretty place, and it’s treated us so well. As far as on the field, me and the other pitchers and the entire pitching department, we really feel like we’re onto something really special. From the coaching staff, but more specifically, the pitching department – it’s something that we’re building. And it’s something I want to be a part of.”
Unfortunately, Lugo’s season, which had been trending toward “something really special,” suddenly became a little bit less than that.
In his 19 starts of the season prior to signing the extension, Lugo had compiled 11 quality starts, pitching fewer than 6.0 innings only five times. But Lugo failed to reach that mark in any of his first four starts after the signing, giving up a season-worst seven runs in two straight. His ERA, which had been below 3.00 since mid-June, had risen to 3.77 following an 8-7 loss to Washington on Aug. 13.
“Just need to execute better,” Lugo said after the game.
Kansas City Finds Winning Touch Despite Struggles by Seth Lugo
The good news from a team standpoint is that while Lugo had been struggling, the Royals were charging. One game under .500 entering August, Kansas City has suddenly become one of MLB’s hottest teams.
As for Lugo, his most recent outing offered something to build on. In his first quality start since signing the extension, Lugo lasted 6.1 innings on Tuesday, giving up just three hits and two runs, and although he took a no-decision, the Royals outlasted the Texas Rangers 5-2, improving to 65-61.
“I thought I threw the ball well,” Lugo said. “I thought I stayed on the attack, mixed up my pitches well and executed pretty well. Gave the team a chance to win.”
And giving the team hope for a late-season push toward a spot in the postseason. With a five-game winning streak, Kansas City sits 2.0 games behind the final wild card spot in the American League.
“It’s been a nice little stretch here,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “We’ve been playing some good ball on both sides, so it’s been good. Flip the script and get ready for tomorrow. But we like where we’re at, and we like where we’ve been. And we need to keep doing it.”
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