Tale of two trade deadlines could doom Twins if Royals stay hot

Kansas City and Minnesota enter play Friday tied for second in the AL Central.

Aug 14, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Kansas City Royals pinch runner Maikel Garcia (11) steals second base against Minnesota Twins second baseman Kyle Farmer (12) in the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports / Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Entering play Friday, the Cleveland Guardians (73-54) lead the AL Central by just two games over the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals (both 71-56). Based on momentum, the Royals are gaining ground faster than the Twins and are a legitimate threat to win the division.

Kansas City was 52-45 at the All-Star break. They've won 19 of 30 games since the break — good for the fourth-best record in baseball since July 15 — while the Twins are 17-14 and the Guardians have slumped with just 14 wins in their last 31 games.

One reason the Royals have sustained their surge is because of brilliant moves at the trade deadline.

While the Royals were aggressive, the Twins did very little to upgrade their roster. In fact, the Twins were literally the last team to make a trade and the only move they made was sending a minor leaguer to the Blue Jays for right-handed reliever Trevor Richards, who has a respectable 3.00 ERA in nine innings of relief but he's walked seven batters and struggled with control.

The Royals aggressively traded for bullpen help in Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey, a starting pitcher in Michael Lorenzen, and veteran infielder Paul DeJong. Three of the four moves have paid off.

Erceg has been a beast out of the bullpen, posting a flawless 0.00 ERA in 10.1 innings. He's allowed just four hits and struck out 14 without allowing a walk. Harvey hasn't been good (6.35 ERA in six relief appearances), but Lorenzen and DeJong have been awesome.

Lorenzen has a 1.99 ERA in 22.2 innings (four starts) and DeJong is slashing .286/.340/548 with three homers. And as ESPN's Jeff Passan points out in his post on X calling the Royals the winners of the trade deadline, DeJong has been playing "elite" defense at third base.

The true test for Kansas City starts Friday as their next 20 games are against the Phillies, Guardians, Astros, Twins and Yankees. If the Royals get through the gauntlet and are still in the AL Central race, they could be a serious contender until the end of September and it will likely be in part credited to bold moves at the trade deadline.