The Chicago Cubs should be shopping for starting pitching at the MLB trade deadline, but Seth Lugo is no longer on the list.
The Royals right-hander, thought to be a fit for several teams on the trade market, reportedly agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Lugo had a $15 million player option for 2026, an option many thought he would exercise whether he remained with the Royals or was traded. By agreeing to an extension, Lugo’s 2026 portion was likely folded in and guaranteed.
Full details were not available.
Lugo was in his second year in Kansas City and was 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 19 starts. He had 99 strikeouts and 33 walks in 113 innings.
He was coming off an incredible 2024, which was his first season with the Royals. He went 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA in 33 starts, which led Major League Baseball. He had 181 strikeouts and 48 walks in 206.2 innings. He earned his first berth in the All-Star Game, his first American League Gold Glove, finished second in AL Cy Young voting and 15th in AL MVP voting.
The Royals made the playoffs, beat Baltimore in the AL wild card playoffs and then lost to the New York Yankees in the AL division series.
The Cubs have a rotation of Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, Colin Rea and Ben Brown, who was selected to start Sunday’s game against the White Sox. Jameson Taillon is close to returning from the 15-day injured list. But the Cubs have little depth beyond that group.
