The Cubs’ biggest need, with about a week before the July 31 deadline, is starting pitching. Lugo, who held the Cubs to four hits and two runs in six innings Wednesday, will be highly sought after by contending teams if the Royals make him available. But their trade deadline direction is unclear.

With now just over a week to go ahead of the MLB trade deadline, real reports of discussions between teams are starting to surface rather than just rumors or id

With the July 31 Trade Deadline coming up, this week marked an important one for the Royals. If they wanted to pave their way out of being sellers at the Deadline, the team needed to take care of business against the Cubs to begin the week.

The Chicago Cubs fell to .500 since the All-Star Break with an 8-4 loss against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. Normally, losing two of three against an AL Central team in July wouldn't be a big deal to the Cubs. In this case, it might be.

Its Wednesday, July 23 and the Royals (49-53) are in Chicago to close out their series with the Cubs (60-41). Seth Lugo is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Colin Rea for Chicago.

The Kansas City Royals crushed four home runs and took advantage of some excellent batted ball luck to bury the Chicago Cubs 12-4 in Wrigley Field. It was a particularly delightful game, especially in light of the team’s struggles with runners in scoring position and bad luck.

A bruised right knee kept Pete Crow-Armstrong out of the lineup for Monday’s game against the Kansas City Royals.

Expert recap and game analysis of the Kansas City Royals vs. Chicago Cubs MLB game from July 21, 2025 on ESPN.