The Kansas City Royals are one of the most exciting teams entering the upcoming MLB season, having utilized the offseason to build upon the encouraging playoff run in 2024.
There are heightened expectations and renewed confidence entering the 2025 campaign, largely thanks to such a stellar pitching staff and Bobby Witt Jr.'s ascension into becoming one of the sport's best players.
Either way, there are clear holes on the roster and one new projected trade sees the Royals landing a quality relief pitcher to fill a need.
Royals Trade IF Nick Loftin for RP Zack Kelly in New Projected Trade
In this predicted trade, the Royals trade infielder Nick Loftin to the Boston Red Sox for promising relief pitcher Zack Kelly.
Only 29 years old, Kelly represents the type of pitcher that Kansas City has targeted in recent years. He's shown promise but hasn't had much experience in the big leagues, making his market value targetable. Kelly's ERA for the last three years was under 4.00 for each season, and the Royals' biggest need was in the bullpen.
Sending Loftin away would hurt given his potential, though the organization obviously prefers Vinnie Pasquantino as the foundational first baseman. As Salvador Perez ages, he'll get more reps at the position and there may not be enough reps for Loftin. Should that be the case, it makes sense to move on from him sooner than later.
Per Baseball Savant, Kelly ranked in the 89th percentile in fastball velocity and 95th in hard-hit percentage. That pairs perfectly with a stellar Royals defense, who helped Seth Lugo ascend to a second-place Cy Young finish largely due to his low hard-hit percentage. If you were building a pitcher in a lab to fit Kansas City's outfield and defense, Kelly's profile would rank highly.
In all likelihood, no trades will happen in Spring Training. Even still, it's fun to think about and would benefit the club overall.