The Kansas City Royals and veteran right-handed starting pitcher Seth Lugo have agreed to a two-year contract extension with a vesting option, the team announced Monday. The deal is expected to pay about $46 million total for 2026 and 2027,

Trade Seth Lugo? How about extending him? The Royals on Monday finalized a two-year contract extension with Lugo, committing to the right-handed veteran starter until at least 2027 and ending any talk of Lugo leaving Kansas City this summer or the offseason.

There was plenty of speculation that the Kansas City Royals would trade Seth Lugo before the deadline, but the star ace isn't going anywhere this season.

The Royals' extension for Seth Lugo makes Dylan Cease the most coveted pitcher on the market at the MLB trade deadline.

According to a Sunday night report from ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, the Royals are finalizing a multi-year extension with Lugo to keep him with the team. He was set to become a free agent after the season, with a player option on the final year of his current deal for next year.

Seth Lugo signed on for two more seasons, with the contract holding a vesting option for a third year. The pact guarantees the 35-year-old right-handed pitcher at least $46 million. For whatever you think of the deal — too rich, rather cheap or just right — we should back up to acknowledge a bigger picture:

The most obvious MLB trade candidates each year are players who are headed for free agency and performing well for teams that have slipped out of contention and are poised to sell at the deadline.

My goal is to give you as many names of pitchers who may be on a new team by August so that you can begin to think about what might come to pass. I'll offer some quick thoughts on whether I'm interested at all in where this player ends up or not,

The Royals reached a multi-year contract extension with Lugo on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Further specifics on his new deal are not yet known. Though Lugo was widely considered one of the top trade candidates ahead of the deadline this summer, he'll now be in Kansas City for years to come.

The Los Angeles Dodgers could use an addition to their rotation before the MLB trade deadline, like Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo.