Fans split on how Royals fared at the trade deadline in latest Fanpulse results

Welcome to SB Nation FanPulse, a survey of fans across MLB. Each week, we send 30 polls to plugged in fans from each team. Royals fans, sign up HERE to join FanPulse.

With the trade deadline behind us, we thought it would be a good time to ask our FanPulse fans how they felt about Dayton Moore’s moves. The Royals made some deals early on, sending Homer Bailey to the Athletics for infielder Kevin Merrell, and Martín Maldonado to the Cubs for pitcher Mike Montgomery. A few days before the deadline the Royals made another deal with Oakland, swapping reliever Jake Diekman in exchange for two minor leaguers, outfielder Dairon Blanco and pitcher Ishmael Aquino.

Ultimately however, the Royals held onto All-Star Whit Merrifield and closer Ian Kennedy, which could be why some fans were split on what the Royals did. According to our FanPulse respondents, just 47 percent of fans approved of what the Royals did at the deadline, with 53 percent disapproving.

The trade deadline action and inaction coupled with a losing streak has seemed to cause confidence in the direction of the club to wane. After a brief blip in fan confidence following improved play after the All-Star break, just 45 percent of fans in our poll are confident in the direction of the club, a sharp drop from 67 percent the week before.

Ned Yost’s approval rating stands at 49 percent, down from 63 percent a week ago, but in line with his approval ratings in our Fanpulse results for most of the year.

Speaking of the trade deadline, our national Fanpulse question asked which team looks the strongest following the deadline. It is not much of a surprise that the Astros, who added Zack Greinke and Aaron Sanchez, were landslide winners, according to fans.

Remember, you can sign up to participate in the FanPulse surveys at this link! Surveys will go out each week and only take a few minutes to complete. Check back next week for more FanPulse results!