One moment in any of 162 games can drastically change the needs of an MLB team. Last night, the Kansas City Royals scored late against dominant Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole to win Game 2 of a three-game home series. KC also lost veteran starter Jason Vargas in the same game when he tore his UCL early in the 2nd inning. This injury immediately affects how the Royals will strategize between now and this season’s trade deadline.

Everyone rightfully assumed KC would lose some productivity when Alex Gordon went down, but the Royals platooning to replace him are performing admirably.

Alex Rios is batting .400 with a 1.090 OPS over the last two weeks. It seems as if his success makes a big difference for KC, as the $11-million outfielder posts a .743 OPS in wins and a .379 in losses this season. From at-bat to at-bat, his timing seems to improve, which gives us hope that Rios is finally comfortable after recovering from his early-season hand injury. Production from Rios takes some of the weight off the shoulders of the left field platoon duo, but KC’s two fill-ins continue to step up when they’re needed most.

Jarrod Dyson posted an .819 OPS over the last 28 days and a .737 OPS against right-handed pitching through the entire season. He often wows with his glove AND arm in left field, and his notorious speed constantly pressures opposing pitching. A .612 OPS against lefties this year doesn’t look too inspiring, but that’s why Dyson platoons with long-time minor-leaguer Paulo Orlando. Paulo is red-hot right now, in an admittedly small sample size; through 29 at-bats over the last four weeks, he’s slugging at .680 and posting a 1.013 OPS. His .747 season-long OPS against left-handed pitching makes Orlando a worthy platoon player, and finding someone better via trade would prove to be very expensive.

Add this good-enough level of production to the problems KC has with their starting rotation, especially with Vargas on his way to Tommy John surgery, and it should be clear that this club’s needs just shifted. Expect the talk about KC trading for a starting pitcher to intensify, while rumors about acquiring big-name outfielders fade away and/or lose their credibility.

Doug LaCerte is a beat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DLaC67, “like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.