With Opening Day just around the corner, the Kansas City Royals are narrowing down their roster, with injuries and reassignments to minor-league camp thinning the competition. As the Royals prepare to face the Cleveland Guardians to start the season, roster projections are coming into focus—but questions remain about several fringe players.
First baseman Nick Pratto and right-handed reliever Carlos Hernández are among those on the roster bubble and could be designated for assignment before the season begins. However, the Royals might also explore trades to free up roster spots, allowing them to make room for more promising talent while potentially gaining value in return. As Kansas City finalizes its 26-man roster, which players could be traded to streamline the process? Here are a few candidates who might be on the trade block before Opening Day.
**Chris Stratton, RHP**
Is this wishful thinking? Maybe. While pitching depth is always valuable, many Royals fans wouldn’t mind seeing veteran right-hander Chris Stratton moved after a rough 2024 season.
And “rough” might be an understatement.
Fresh off a World Series win with the Texas Rangers in 2023, Stratton signed with Kansas City, including a player option for 2025. Unfortunately, the Royals are now stuck with him after he turned in the worst season of his nine-year MLB career. His 5.55 ERA, career-worst 1.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and declining fastball velocity offered little to be optimistic about. For a small silver lining: all 36 runs he allowed came in just 18 of his 57 appearances. In other words, when Stratton was bad, he was *really* bad—but he still had more solid outings than disastrous ones. That said, his poor performances often outweighed his contributions.
With his $4.5 million salary guaranteed, the Royals could fall into the sunk cost fallacy and keep Stratton on the roster until they have no other choice. However, he hasn’t made a strong case to stay this spring. After starting with two clean, one-inning outings (striking out two in each), his last three appearances have been shaky, with multiple hits and at least one earned run allowed in each. More concerning, all four of his pitches were slower in his March 12 outing against the Seattle Mariners. While he generated a 25% whiff rate, it’s hard to see a reliever averaging just 91 mph on his fastball finding consistent success in 2025.
Ideally, any trade involving Stratton would focus more on clearing salary than acquiring prospects. If the Royals want to give younger arms like Jonathan Bowlan or Steven Cruz a chance, there are better bullpen options available. While a pre-Opening Day trade seems unlikely, moving Stratton could open the door for higher-upside relievers to step into key roles. At this point, the Royals need to ask themselves: is holding onto Stratton worth the roster spot?
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