KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This dead cat won’t bounce.

After the Mets dismantled their roster with trades over the past week, there was at least some hope that three games against the hapless Royals might at least create a temporary illusion of wellness.

On Wall Street, that kind of short recovery is referred to as a “dead cat bounce.”

These Mets have replaced “bounce” with “splat.”

Vital signs zero, the Mets lost 9-2 at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday to complete the Royals’ three-game sweep.

The Mets fell eight games below .500 and will be rewarded with a weekend series against the Orioles, who own the American League’s best record.

On the brink of getting shut out for a second straight day, the Mets received a two-run homer from Francisco Lindor with two outs in the ninth.

The Royals began the day third from the bottom in the major leagues with a 5.14 ERA.

Their starting pitcher, Brady Singer, had a 5.46 ERA.

Carlos Carrasco lasted six innings and allowed six earned runs on eight hits and one walk in a fourth straight clunker.

Since pitching eight shutout innings against the Diamondbacks on July 6, the veteran right-hander owns a 12.33 ERA over four starts.

Carrasco’s afternoon unraveled in the seventh on Drew Waters’ three-run homer that buried the Mets in a 6-0 hole.

Normally, manager Buck Showalter might have removed Carrasco after the sixth, but with David Peterson returning to the rotation Friday and not completely stretched out, the manager tried to avoid extending the bullpen.

Josh Walker, who balked in the winning run on Tuesday in the 10th inning, allowed three runs on three hits in the eighth on this day.

Showalter used a position player, Danny Mendick, to get the final two outs in the inning.

Pete Alonso singled twice, and Mark Vientos and Stewart each added another to account for the Mets’ offense until Lindor’s blast in the ninth.

Salvador Perez sliced an RBI double in the first inning that gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.

On the play, right fielder DJ Stewart appeared to get a late read on the ball and watched as it hit behind his glove on the right-field fence.

Samad Taylor reached on an infield single to start the third and stole second before Carrasco’s wild pitch sent him to third.

Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly gave the Royals a 2-0 lead before Bobby Witt Jr. cleared the center-field fence for his 19th homer of the season.