Royals GM says team was involved in several trade discussions. These were KC’s moves

The Royals seemingly made their intentions clear on Tuesday:

They are making a push for the playoffs ... while also not mortgaging their future.

Hours before the Major League Baseball trade deadline, they acquired relief pitcher Lucas Erceg from the Oakland A’s, then traded for White Sox shortstop Paul DeJong.

Right-handed pitcher John McMillon was designated for assignment to make room for DeJong on the 40-man roster. Nick Loftin was optioned to Omaha, opening a spot on the active roster for DeJong, who had a short trip to join the Royals.

General manager J.J. Picollo said the Royals pursued other trades but the cost was too great. He admitted that helping this year’s team while keeping an eye on the future wasn’t an easy balancing act.

“We’re pretty happy with the way this went,” Picollo said. “Over the last couple days, we had an objective that we wanted to add to our bullpen. We were able accomplish that. We also were able to add some depth to our rotation and then add a bat. The bigger thing for us over the last couple of days, we wanted to do what we could to help this club, but we also had in mind our prospect value and how we needed to protect that. ...

“(We were) trying to thread the needle of doing both, and it’s not the easiest thing. There were certain things we would have loved to have done, but in the end the cost acquisition was higher than we were willing to go.”

DeJong, who turns 31 Friday, came up with the St. Louis Cardinals, making his big-league debut in 2017. He played for the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants last season before signing a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the White Sox.

In 102 games with Chicago this season, DeJong was batting .228 with 18 home runs and 14 doubles. He also has played second and third base in the majors.

The Royals sent right-hander Jarold Rosado to the White Sox in the deal. Rosado had a 1.85 ERA in 27 games with Class A Columbia.

DeJong was with the Royals on Tuesday night after making the trip from the home clubhouse to the visitors’ at Guaranteed Rate Field.

More Royals bullpen help

The Royals’ acquisition of Erceg marks their third trade this month for bullpen help.

Before the All-Star break, the Royals traded for Hunter Harvey of the Nationals. On Monday, they added Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen (they haven’t yet said whether he will start or relieve).

Erceg, a 29-year-old right-hander, has a 3.68 ERA in 36 2/3 innings with 41 strikeouts. He is in his second season in the majors and will remain under club control through the 2029 season.

The Royals sent right-handed pitchers Will Klein and Mason Barnett to Oakland, along with outfielder Jared Dickey. Klein had been recalled by the Royals on Monday and had been in Chicago with the team.

“Giving up three players for one is never the easiest thing, but looking at this year’s team and then looking forward to ‘25, ‘26, ‘27, we think Lucas Erceg’s better days are ahead of him,” Picollo said. “That was really compelling to us and we were just glad we ended up being the team, because there was competition to land Lucas.”

Barnett had a 4.91 ERA in 19 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That included 18 starts. Dickey batted .269 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 81 games with Class A Quad Cities.

The Royals noted Erceg’s four-seam fastball averages 98.5 mph, which ranks as the eighth-fastest heater in the majors.

Erceg is expected to join the Royals either Wednesday or Thursday.