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<title>Kansas City Royals – MLB Trade Rumors</title>
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<title>Royals Release Mike Brosseau</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-release-mike-brosseau.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-release-mike-brosseau.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anthony Franco]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 04:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Brosseau]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=808756</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals released infielder Mike Brosseau from his minor league contract last night. The move was announced by Kansas City’s Triple-A club in Omaha this morning. Brosseau, 30, signed with Kansas City over the offseason. He appeared in 12 games this spring, hitting .156 without an extra-base knock. Those struggles carried into the regular season with…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals released infielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brossmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mike Brosseau</a> from his minor league contract last night. The move was announced by Kansas City’s Triple-A club in Omaha this morning.
Brosseau, 30, signed with Kansas City over the offseason. He appeared in 12 games this spring, hitting .156 without an extra-base knock. Those struggles carried into the regular season with Omaha. In 33 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers, he posted a .107/.212/.143 slash.
That’s clearly not the way in which Brosseau wanted to start his season. Still, he has enough of a track record that he might be able to find another minor league deal elsewhere. Brosseau appeared in the majors in each season between 2019-23. He was an above-average hitter off the bench for the Rays over his first two years and produced a solid .255/.344/.418 line in 70 games for the Brewers two seasons ago. Last year was a challenge, as he hit .205/.256/.397 in 29 games before Milwaukee released him. Brosseau subsequently landed with the NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines but only mustered a .191/.218/.297 slash in Japan.
Despite his recent struggles, Brosseau has a .249/.344/.455 mark over parts of five Triple-A seasons. While he hasn’t hit righties well in the majors, he’s managed a .265/.326/.464 line and 17 homers in 383 MLB plate appearances against left-handed pitching. That could attract attention from teams looking for righty-hitting infield depth.
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<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
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<item>
<title>Royals Select Tyler Duffey</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-to-select-tyler-duffey.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-to-select-tyler-duffey.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:35:17 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jordan Lyles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tyler Duffey]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=808475</guid>
<description><![CDATA[1:35pm: The Royals announced that Duffey’ contract has indeed been selected from Omaha. Left-hander Anthony Veneziano was optioned to open a spot on the active roster. Regarding Lyles, the team understandably hasn’t disclosed the nature of his personal matter, but it sounds as though he could be in for a notable absence. Anne Rogers of…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[1:35pm: The Royals announced that Duffey’ contract has indeed been selected from Omaha. Left-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/venezan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-22_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Anthony Veneziano</a> was optioned to open a spot on the active roster.
Regarding Lyles, the team understandably hasn’t disclosed the nature of his personal matter, but it sounds as though he could be in for a notable absence. Anne Rogers of MLB.com <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1782470154841919572">reports</a> that he’ll “likely be sidelined for some time.”
9:05am: Veteran right-handed reliever <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=duffety01,duffey001tyl&search=Tyler+Duffey&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-22_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyler Duffey</a> will join the Royals for tonight’s game against the visiting Blue Jays, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1782404378483433518">reports</a> Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The team will need to formally select Duffey’s contract.
Kansas City already has an open spot on its 40-man roster. The team announced over the weekend that right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lylesjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-22_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Lyles</a> has been placed on the temporarily inactive list to tend to an undisclosed personal matter. Their transaction log at MLB.com further specifies that Lyles has now been moved to the restricted list — a procedural move that’ll open a 40-man roster spot while he’s away from the club. The 33-year-old Lyles has had a nice start to his season, tossing five shutout innings after moving from the rotation to the ’pen. He’s fanned three hitters and allowed only two hits and two walks.
Duffey, also 33, was a staple in the Twins’ relief corps from 2017-22 and peaked as a high-end setup option in Minnesota from 2019-21. Over that three-year period, he tossed 144 innings with a 2.89 ERA while punching out 29.8% of his opponents. Duffey’s fastball dipped in 2022, however, and his results slipped along with that loss of velocity. He yielded a jarring eight home runs in 44 innings while pitching to a 4.91 ERA before being designated for assignment and cut loose. Duffey pitched two innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen last season but spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, where he posted a 3.47 ERA in 49 1/3 frames.
The Royals signed Duffey to a minor league contract over the winter. Upon reporting to spring training he had a health scare, when his intake physical revealed a cancerous mole on his shoulder. The right-hander <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-tyler-duffey-recently-underwent-procedure-to-treat-melanoma.html">underwent a procedure</a> to remove that melanoma, and he’s thankfully been cancer-free since — though at the time he revealed the issue to reporters, he noted that he’d be receiving routine checks for the foreseeable future.
Duffey has had a nice start to his season in Triple-A Omaha, pitching 8 1/3 innings and allowing three runs (3.24 ERA). He’s walked too many hitters, dishing out a free pass to five of his 37 opponents (13.5%), but he’s also whiffed 10 (27%) and kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 54.5% clip.
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<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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<item>
<title>Dave McCarty Passes Away</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/dave-mccarty-passes-away.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/dave-mccarty-passes-away.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anthony Franco]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 22:50:46 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Boston Red Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Minnesota Twins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Obituaries]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=808286</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Former major league first baseman/outfielder Dave McCarty has passed away after a cardiac event, the Red Sox announced. He was 54. A Stanford product, McCarty was the third overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Twins. Baseball America ranked the 6’5″ right-handed hitter as a top 25 prospect in the sport over the next…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Former major league first baseman/outfielder <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccarda01.shtml">Dave McCarty</a> has passed away after a cardiac event, the Red Sox announced. He was 54.
A Stanford product, McCarty was the third overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Twins. Baseball America ranked the 6’5″ right-handed hitter as a top 25 prospect in the sport over the next two seasons. McCarty reached the majors in May ’93. He played parts of three seasons in Minnesota, hitting .226/.275/.310 before being traded to the Reds. Cincinnati flipped McCarty to the Giants around six weeks later. He played parts of two seasons with San Francisco before again finding himself on the move, this time to Seattle.
McCarty had his most productive year in 2000 with the Royals. He appeared in a career-high 103 games and turned in a .278/.329/.478 batting line with 12 homers. He bounced to the Devil Rays and A’s before landing with the Red Sox on a waiver claim in 2003. McCarty played in 89 games as a role player for the World Series winning team the following season. He hit four homers, including a walk-off shot to center field against the Mariners in May. He finished his playing career after the ’05 season and worked as an analyst on NESN for the next few years.
Over parts of 11 years in the majors, McCarty played in 630 games. He hit .242/.305/.371 with 36 home runs, 68 doubles and 175 RBI. He suited up for seven teams, saw some action in the postseason in 2003, and collected a World Series ring the following year. MLBTR joins others around the game in sending our condolences to the McCarty family, his friends and former teammates.
]]></content:encoded>
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<slash:comments>27</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>Which Hot Or Cold Starts Are For Real?</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/which-hot-or-cold-starts-are-for-real.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/which-hot-or-cold-starts-are-for-real.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Darragh McDonald]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 01:19:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Houston Astros]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Miami Marlins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Milwaukee Brewers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Minnesota Twins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MLBTR Originals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MLBTR Polls]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New York Mets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New York Yankees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Francisco Giants]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Seattle Mariners]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[St. Louis Cardinals]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=808168</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The 2024 season is just a few weeks old. There’s still a lot of time for narratives to shift and plenty of exciting or deflating changes are surely coming up over the horizon. Nonetheless, the games in April count just as much as the games in September. Some clubs have already banked some valuable wins…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The 2024 season is just a few weeks old. There’s still a lot of time for narratives to shift and plenty of exciting or deflating changes are surely coming up over the horizon. Nonetheless, the games in April count just as much as the games in September. Some clubs have already banked some valuable wins while others have put themselves in a real hole.
Looking at the FanGraphs Playoff Odds <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds">today</a> and comparing them to where they were <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds?date=2024-03-19&dateDelta=">ahead of the Seoul Series</a>, there are five clubs that have increased their postseason chances by more than 10%. Meanwhile, six clubs have seen their odds drop by more than 10%. Which of those are just small-sample blips and which are signs that the club’s talent level is meaningfully different than expected? Let’s take a glance.
Orioles
The defending champions of the American League East were given just a 51.8% chance of making it back to the postseason, per the FanGraphs odds from before any games had been played. They have started out 12-6 and seen their odds jump to 76.5% today, a difference of 24.7%.
Baltimore continues to get huge contributions from its young core and role players alike. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hollija01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jackson Holliday</a>’s big league career is out to a slow start, but others have picked up the slack, with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cowseco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Colton Cowser</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hendegu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Gunnar Henderson</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/westbjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Westburg</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mullice01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cedric Mullins</a> off and running. Even <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohearry01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ryan O’Hearn</a>, who was acquired in a small cash deal from the Royals, continues to thrive. On the pitching side, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burneco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Corbin Burnes</a> has been the expected ace while <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrigr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Grayson Rodriguez</a> continues to cement himself as a quality big league arm. There are some question marks at the back end with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kremede01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dean Kremer</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/i/irvinco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cole Irvin</a> out to wobbly starts, but <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bradiky01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kyle Bradish</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meansjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">John Means</a> are both on minor league rehab assignments and could rejoin the club soon.
The 18 games they have played so far have come against the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Red Sox, Brewers and Twins.
Royals
The Royals entered the season with playoff odds of just 13.1% but they have gone 12-7 so far, bumping themselves up to 33.2%, a difference of 20.1%.
An improved rotation gets a lot of the credit. Between last year’s trade for <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raganco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cole Ragans</a>, the offseason signings of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugose01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Seth Lugo</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wachami01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Wacha</a>, as well as the emergence of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alec Marsh</a>, it’s a whole new look alongside <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brady Singer</a>. None of those five have an ERA higher than 4.32 so far this year. On the position player side of things, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wittbo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bobby Witt Jr.</a> is further proving himself to be a superstar, while <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezsa02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Salvador Perez</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pasquvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Vinnie Pasquantino</a> are healthy and productive.
They have faced the Twins, Orioles, White Sox, Astros and Mets thus far.
Yankees
The Yanks had strong odds to begin with, starting out at 71.2%. A hot start of 13 wins and 6 losses has already bumped those all the way to 85.9%, a jump of 14.7%.
Health was a big factor for the Yankees last year, with players like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/judgeaa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Aaron Judge</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rizzoan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Anthony Rizzo</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lemahdj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DJ LeMahieu</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stantmi03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Giancarlo Stanton</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cortene01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nestor Cortes</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodonca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Carlos Rodón</a> all missing significant time. This year, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colege01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Gerrit Cole</a> is on the shelf, as is LeMahieu. But new face <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&search=Juan+Soto&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Juan Soto</a> has been great so far, while Stanton, Cortes and Rodón are back in decent form.
The injuries or lack thereof will probably remain a focus for the months to come, especially with so many key players in their mid-30s. Last year, the club was 45-36 through the end of June, but mounting injuries led to them going 20-33 through July and August.
They have started their season by playing the Astros, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Marlins and Guardians.
Brewers
The National League Central is arguably the most up-for-grabs, with the five clubs fairly close in terms of talent. Despite being the reigning division champs, the Brewers were given just a 30.6% chance of making the postseason, below the Cardinals and Cubs. They’ve started out 11-6 and are now at 43.5%, a 12.9% bump.
There have been quite a few nice performance on the offensive side of things. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/adamewi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Willy Adames</a> had a bit of a down year in 2023 but is off to a good start in this campaign. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/turanbr02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brice Turang</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perkibl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Blake Perkins</a> are also putting up better numbers than last year. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ortizjo06.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Joey Ortiz</a> has done well since coming over from the Orioles in the Burnes trade. The loss of Burnes and the injury to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woodrbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brandon Woodruff</a> left the club without their co-aces, but <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peralfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Freddy Peralta</a> has stepped up with a 2.55 ERA and 39.4% strikeout rate through his first three starts.
They have faced off against the Mets, Twins, Mariners, Reds, Orioles and Padres so far.
Mets
After a disastrous 2023 season and a relatively quiet winter, the Mets opened this year with their odds at 27.6%. A 10-8 start has already bumped them to 38.7%, an 11.1% difference.
They have been especially strong of late, as they started out 0-5 but have gone 10-3 over their last 13 contests. The bounceback plays on <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/severlu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luis Severino</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/manaese01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sean Manaea</a> seem to be going well so far. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=diazed04,diaz--005edw&search=Edwin+Díaz&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Edwin Díaz</a> is healthy again and already has four saves. On the position player side, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/batybr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brett Baty</a> seems to be taking a step forward. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stewadj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DJ Stewart</a> is carrying over last year’s hot finish, and the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/tayloty01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyrone Taylor</a> pickup looks like a nice move.
They have lined up against the Brewers, Tigers, Reds, Braves, Royals and Pirates.
Giants
The Giants added plenty of talent this winter and opened the season with playoff odds of 44.6%. But an 8-11 start has already dropped them to 34%, a difference of 10.6%.
Stretching out <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hicksjo03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Hicks</a> is going great so far, but <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/snellbl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Blake Snell</a> showed a lot of rust in his first two starts after signing late in the offseason. On offense, acquisitions like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leeju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jung Hoo Lee</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chapmma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Matt Chapman</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ahmedni01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nick Ahmed</a> have produced subpar offense, and the same goes for incumbents like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yastrmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mike Yastrzemski</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=florewi01,flores005wil&search=Wilmer+Flores&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Wilmer Flores</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/estrath01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Thairo Estrada</a>.
They have squared off against the Padres, Dodgers, Nationals, Rays and Marlins thus far.
Cardinals
Despite a dreadful 2023 campaign, expectations were high for the Cards coming into this year after they remade their rotation. But a middling start of 9-10 has dropped their playoff odds from 50.1% to 38.7%, a difference of 11.4%.
Injuries have been playing a notable role in the early going for the Cards, with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grayso01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sonny Gray</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nootbla01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Lars Nootbaar</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/edmanto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tommy Edman</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carlsdy01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dylan Carlson</a> and others missing time. The <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lynnla01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Lance Lynn</a> signing looks good so far, as he has a 2.18 ERA through four starts, but <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=gibsoky01,gibson004kyl&search=Kyle+Gibson&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kyle Gibson</a> is at 6.16. Both the veteran <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/goldspa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Paul Goldschmidt</a> and the youngster <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkejo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Walker</a> are out to terrible starts at the plate. The Cardinals’ long list of injuries opened up playing time for guys like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burleal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alec Burleson</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scottvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Victor Scott II</a>, who have each struggled immensely.
They have faced the Dodgers, Padres, Marlins, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Athletics to this point.
Mariners
The Mariners just missed the playoffs last year but still opened this season with a 60.8% chance of getting back there. A tepid start of 9-10 has seen those odds slide to 49.1%, a difference of 11.7%. Things were even more dire before they swept the Reds this week, as they were 6-10 prior to that.
The rotation has surprisingly been a problem thus far. An injury to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/woobr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bryan Woo</a> bumped <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hancoem01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Emerson Hancock</a> into the rotation, but Hancock has an ERA of 7.98 through three starts. Each of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/castilu02.shtml">Luis Castillo</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kirbyge01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">George Kirby</a> also have poor results, though those may be based on luck. Both have a high BABIP and low strand rate, so both have a FIP just above 3.00, about three runs lower than their ERA.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=rodriju01,rodrig014jul,rodrig010jul,rodrig015jul&search=Julio+Rodríguez&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Julio Rodríguez</a> is the biggest disappointment on the position player side. He is striking out at a 34.6% clip and walking just 5.1% of the time while still looking for his first home of the year, leading to a line of .219/.269/.260. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raleylu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luke Raley</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garvemi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mitch Garver</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/crawfjp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">J.P. Crawford</a> have also looked lost at the plate, with none of that trio posting a wRC+ higher than 75 so far.
The M’s have played the Red Sox, Guardians, Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs and Reds.
Marlins
The Fish swam into the playoffs last year, their first postseason berth in a full season in 20 years. They followed that with an offseason mostly focused on overhauling their front office and player development system. A disastrous 4-15 start has already dropped this year’s playoff odds from 27.9% to 2.3%, a difference of 25.6%.
Injuries have been a huge factor, as the club’s former starting pitching surplus quickly became a deficit. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alcansa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sandy Alcántara</a> required Tommy John surgery last year, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezeu02.shtml">Eury Pérez</a> followed him down that path this year. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cabreed02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Edward Cabrera</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garrebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Braxton Garrett</a> also missed some time due to shoulder troubles. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pukaj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">A.J. Puk</a>’s attempted move from the bullpen to the rotation is not going well so far, and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/luzarje01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jesús Luzardo</a> is struggling badly. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=meyerma01,meyer-001max&search=Max+Meyer&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Max Meyer</a> was doing well but he <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/marlins-option-max-meyer.html">was optioned to the minors</a> to monitor his workload after he missed all of last year recovering from his own Tommy John procedure. The offense has been pretty bad across the board, as not a single member of the team has a wRC+ of 105 or higher. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/burgeja01.shtml">Jake Burger</a> hit the injured list earlier this week, removing one of their top power bats from that already weak group.
They faced the Pirates, Angels, Cardinals, Yankees, Braves and Giants to start the year and have yet to win back-to-back games.
Astros
The Astros have been a powerhouse for years and opened this season with an 86.2% chance of returning to the postseason. But they have stumbled out of the gates this year with a record of 6-14, dropping their odds to 59.7%, a 26.5% drop.
Like some of the other clubs mentioned above, health has been a big factor here. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcculla02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Lance McCullers Jr.</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcilu05.shtml">Luis Garcia</a> each underwent elbow surgery last year and are still rehabbing. So far this year, the Astros have lost <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/verlaju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Justin Verlander</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/urquijo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">José Urquidy</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/valdefr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Framber Valdez</a> to the IL, giving them a full rotation on the shelf. (Verlander <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/astros-activate-justin-verlander-injured-list-friday.html">will return tomorrow</a>.)
With those prominent arms not around, others haven’t really picked up the slack. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=brownhu01,brown-008hun,brown-006hun&search=Hunter+Brown&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Hunter Brown</a> has an ERA of 10.54 through four starts while <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/francjp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">J.P. France</a> is at 7.08. Prospect <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/arrigsp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Spencer Arrighetti</a> was called up to fill in but has been tagged for nine runs over seven innings in his two outings. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/haderjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Josh Hader</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pressry01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ryan Pressly</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abreubr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bryan Abreu</a> have surprisingly been bad out of the bullpen, with each having an ERA of 6.00 or higher. On offense, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abreujo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">José Abreu</a> has been awful, hitting .078/.158/.098. That performance got him bumped down in the lineup, and he’s been ceding playing time to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=singljo02,single002jon&search=Jon+Singleton&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jon Singleton</a> lately.
The Astros began the year playing the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals and Braves.
Twins
The Twins are the reigning champs in the American League Central but made some budget cuts this winter. Their 6-11 start has moved their playoff odds from 66% to 38.6%, a shift of 27.4%.
Once again, injuries are a big part of the story here. Oft-injured <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lewisro02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Royce Lewis</a> went down with a quad strain on Opening Day, and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/correca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Carlos Correa</a> followed him later, subtracting the club’s left side of the infield. The only guys with at least 30 plate appearances and a wRC+ above 100 are <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jeffery01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ryan Jeffers</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kirilal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alex Kirilloff</a> and the currently-injured Correa. Multiple injured relievers, most notably <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/duranjh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jhoan Durán</a>, have left the bullpen shorthanded.
In the rotation, the club lost Sonny Gray, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maedake01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kenta Maeda</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mahlety01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyler Mahle</a> from last year’s club, but their main attempt at replacing those guys was to acquire <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/desclan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Anthony DeSclafani</a> on the heels of a pair of injury-wrecked seasons. He required flexor tendon surgery and will miss the rest of the year. The incumbents haven’t been much help. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/paddach01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Chris Paddack</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/varlalo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Louie Varland</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/oberba01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-18_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bailey Ober</a> each have an ERA above 6.50, though Ober has rebounded after being shelled for eight runs in just 1 1/3 innings in his season debut.
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Some of these are probably just flukes, and the results will even out over the rest of the season, but some of these clubs might be showing us who they really are. Which ones do you believe in? Have your say in the polls below, the first one for the hot starts and the second one for the cold starts. (Note: you can select multiple options in each poll.)
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<slash:comments>137</slash:comments>
</item>
<item>
<title>2023 Rule 5 Update: April Edition</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/2023-rule-5-update-april-edition.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/2023-rule-5-update-april-edition.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:06:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Boston Red Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chicago White Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cleveland Guardians]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colorado Rockies]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Miami Marlins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MLBTR Originals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New York Mets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New York Yankees]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Oakland Athletics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Rule 5 Draft]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[San Diego Padres]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Seattle Mariners]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[St. Louis Cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tampa Bay Rays]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Rangers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington Nationals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Anthony Molina]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Carson Coleman]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Deyvison De Los Santos]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Justin Slaten]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Matt Sauer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mitch Spence]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nasim Nunez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ryan Fernandez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Shane Drohan]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Stephen Kolek]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=807929</guid>
<description><![CDATA[We’re three weeks into the 2024 season, and this year’s crop of Rule 5 picks has had an atypical amount of staying power. That’s perhaps in part due to the fact that only ten players were selected in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but as of this writing, only one Rule 5 selection has been…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[We’re three weeks into the 2024 season, and this year’s crop of Rule 5 picks has had an atypical amount of staying power. That’s perhaps in part due to the fact that only ten players were selected in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but as of this writing, only one Rule 5 selection has been returned to his original organization.
For those unfamiliar, in order to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, a player must not be on his team’s 40-man roster and must have played in either parts of five professional seasons (if they signed at 18 or younger) or four professional seasons (if they signed at 19 or older). The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 by selecting their contracts to the 40-man roster typically falls in mid-November and spurs a good deal of player movement as teams jettison borderline players and non-tender candidates from their roster in order to protect younger prospects.
A player who is selected in the Rule 5 Draft must spend the entire subsequent season on his new club’s Major League roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. The player can technically spend time on the injured list as well, but at least 90 days must be spent on the active roster. If not, the player’s Rule 5 status rolls into the following season until 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If a team at any point decides it can no longer carry a Rule 5 selection, that player must be passed through waivers and subsequently offered back to his original organization. Any other club can claim the player via waivers, but the same Rule 5 restrictions will apply to the claiming team.
Broadly speaking, the Rule 5 Draft rarely produces impact players. There are plenty of exceptions over the years, though, with names like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santajo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Johan Santana</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/u/ugglada01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dan Uggla</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/victosh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Shane Victorino</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/soriajo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Joakim Soria</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hamiljo03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Josh Hamilton</a> and, more recently, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitlga01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Garrett Whitlock</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stephtr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2023-04-12_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Trevor Stephan</a> thriving in new organizations. The Rule 5 Draft dates back more than a century and has even produced a handful of Hall of Famers: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemero01.shtml">Roberto Clemente</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoha01.shtml">Hack Wilson</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mathech01.shtml">Christy Mathewson</a>.
It’s unlikely we’ll see any Cooperstown-bound players come from this year’s crop, but the teams who opted to select a player will be content if any of these names become a viable reliever or role player for the next several seasons. Here’s a look at this year’s group of ten Rule 5 players and where they stand. We’ll do a few of these throughout the season, keeping tabs on which players survive the season and formally have their long-term rights transferred to their new clubs.
On a Major League Roster
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spencmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mitch Spence</a>, RHP, Athletics (selected from Yankees)
Spence, 26 next month, was the first overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, and understandably so after the 2023 season he had. His 4.47 ERA might’ve been pedestrian, but the 2019 tenth-rounder led all Triple-A pitchers with 163 innings while delivering a nice blend of strikeouts (21.8%), walks (7.5%) and ground-balls (50%). For an A’s club desperately thin on starting pitching after the slew of rebuilding-driven trades for minor league arms have failed to produce much, adding a 25-year-old arm with that type of season held obvious appeal.
Spence made Oakland’s decision easy with a monster spring showing. He pitched 17 2/3 innings and allowed only six earned runs (3.06 ERA) on 15 hits and six walks with 21 punchouts. He’s worked out of the ’pen so far in Oakland but could very well find himself making starts later in the year. Through his first 11 2/3 MLB frames, Spence has yielded four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks with a 48.4% grounder rate. He’s not in danger of losing his spot anytime soon.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sauerma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Matt Sauer</a>, RHP, Royals (selected from Yankees)
Another 25-year-old righty out of the Yankees organization, Sauer came to his new club with a much heavier draft pedigree than his now-former teammate, Spence. The Yankees selected the 6’4″ righty with the No. 54 overall pick back in 2017, but Sauer didn’t develop as quickly as hoped. He was set back by 2019 Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. He’s never topped 111 innings in a season, but Sauer rebuilt some prospect pedigree with a nice 2023 season that saw him pitch 68 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in Double-A. He whiffed 29.5% of his opponents, albeit against a less palatable 10.3% walk rate.
Like his former teammate, Sauer had a nice spring that made the decision relatively easy for his new club. In 10 2/3 innings, he held opponents to three earned runs (2.53 ERA) on 13 hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts. He opened the season in the Kansas City bullpen and has thus far pitched five innings, allowing a pair of runs in that time. Sauer has walked four of his 25 opponents and fanned just two thus far. It’s a small sample, of course, but he’ll need to reverse that early trend to hang onto his roster spot — especially if the Royals continue their hot start and find themselves contending into the summer.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=molinan01,molina006ant,molina007ant&search=Anthony+Molina&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Anthony Molina</a>, RHP, Rockies (selected from Rays)
The 22-year-old Molina worked as a starter in the Rays’ system last year, taking the ball 28 times (27 starts) and pitching 122 innings with a 4.50 ERA. The undersized righty has garnered praise for a solid-average heater and above-average changeup, and he showed good command in 2023 after struggling with walks earlier in his minor league career. Molina continued to show good command in spring training (in addition to a massive 60.5% grounder rate), but the regular season has been brutal for him thus far. In three appearances, he’s been tattooed for a dozen runs on 13 hits and four walks with just two strikeouts. The Rockies can afford to be as patient as they want. They’re 4-13 on the season and were never expected to contend. Still, Molina will need to improve on his early performance in order to stick on the roster.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nunezna01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nasim Nunez</a>, INF, Nationals (selected from Marlins)
The Nationals have effectively played the season thus far with a 25-man roster. Nunez made the Opening Day squad but has been M.I.A. since. He’s appeared in just five of Washington’s 16 games and received only two plate appearances, going hitless in that meaningless sample. Nunez is an all-glove and speed prospect who hit just .224/.341/.286 in Double-A last season. He did go 52-for-59 in stolen base attempts, and scouting reports have long touted his defensive excellence at shortstop. He hit just .152/.200/.182 in 35 spring plate appearances.
It’s fair to wonder how long the Nats can essentially punt a roster spot by keeping Nunez on the bench, but like the Rockies, they’re not expecting to contend this season anyhow. One would imagine that from a pure developmental standpoint, they need to find a way to get Nunez into some games and start getting him some playing time, but for now, the team appears content to just hide the 23-year-old on the bench.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fernary01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ryan Fernandez</a>, RHP, Cardinals (selected from Red Sox)
Fernandez, 25, has just four appearances out of the St. Louis bullpen so far and has been understandably deployed in low-leverage spots while he acclimates to the majors. He’s pitched fairly well in sparse duty, holding opponents to three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. Fernandez has averaged just under 96 mph on his heater, fanned seven opponents and issued three walks. His swinging-strike rate isn’t close to where it’s been in his minor league work, but his wipeout slider has been strong thus far. Fernandez has finished off eight plate appearances with that pitch, picking up four strikeouts and yielding only one hit. Nothing he’s done so far makes it seem like he’ll be cut loose anytime soon.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/slateju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Justin Slaten</a>, RHP, Red Sox (selected by Mets from Rangers; traded to Red Sox for LHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ammons000rya&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ryan Ammons</a>)
While most Rule 5 relievers are eased into low-pressure spots, that hasn’t been the case with the Sox and Slaten. He held a four-run lead to pick up a seven-out save in the team’s fourth game of the season, and the 6’4″ righty has since tallied three holds out of Alex Cora’s bullpen. In 10 1/3 innings, Slaten has allowed only one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Add in 6 1/3 shutout innings in spring training, and he’s looked more like a seasoned veteran than a 26-year-old who entered the season with all of 8 1/3 innings above the Double-A level. Slaten has immediately made himself an important part of Boston’s roster, and while a prolonged slump could always change things, he looks like a keeper right now.
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kolekst01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Stephen Kolek</a>, RHP, Padres (selected from Mariners)
Kolek, who’ll turn 27 tomorrow, began his big league tenure with four runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two appearances. He’s since bounced back with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, fanning 11 hitters against three walks along the way. He punched out nearly a quarter of his opponents in Triple-A last year and did so with a huge 57.5% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t picked up grounders at such a strong level just yet (43.5%), but San Diego probably isn’t second-guessing their decision to select him. He’s already picked up a pair of holds, and his recent run of success has dropped his ERA to 4.35. Command has been a problem for Kolek in the past, but he’s only walked 8.9% of his opponents against a 26.7% strikeout rate so far.
On the Major League Injured List
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=drohan000sha&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Shane Drohan</a>, LHP, White Sox (selected from Red Sox): Drohan underwent shoulder surgery in late February and is on the 60-day IL. There’s no telling yet when he’ll be medically cleared to return. As noted in the intro, Drohan needs 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 designation; even if he spends the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list, his Rule 5 status will carry over into 2025 until he picks up those 90 active days.
<a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=colema000car">Carson Coleman</a>, RHP, Rangers (selected from Yankees): Coleman is also on the 60-day injured list. Unlike Drohan, it was well known at the time of his selection that he’d be IL-bound to begin the year. Coleman had Tommy John surgery last year and is expected to be out until midsummer at the least.
Returned to Original Organization
<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=deloss000dey&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-17_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Deyvison De Los Santos</a>, INF, Guardians (returned to D-backs): De Los Santos has big raw power but a well below-average hit tool. The Guardians selected him on the heels of a 20-homer campaign in Double-A with the D-backs, but he hit just .227/.227/.318 in 44 spring appearances before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and getting returned to the Snakes. He’s had a big performance in a return-trip to Double-A.
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<title>Whitey Herzog Passes Away</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/whitey-herzog-passes-away.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/whitey-herzog-passes-away.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anthony Franco]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 17 Apr 2024 04:59:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Newsstand]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Obituaries]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[St. Louis Cardinals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Rangers]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=807970</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog has passed away at 92. The Cardinals announced the news on Tuesday morning. Herzog’s family provided a brief statement, as relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (on X): “Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family. We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog has passed away at 92. The Cardinals <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Cardinals/status/1780265172252107106">announced</a> the news on Tuesday morning. Herzog’s family provided a brief statement, as relayed by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BNightengale/status/1780266113294843930">on X</a>): “Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family. We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from friends who knew he was very ill. Although it is hard for us to say goodbye, his peaceful passing was a blessing for him.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred released the following statement:
“Whitey Herzog was one of the most accomplished managers of his generation and a consistent winner with both ‘I-70’ franchises. He made a significant impact on the St. Louis Cardinals as both a manager and a general manager, with the Kansas City Royals as a manager, and with the New York Mets in player development. Whitey’s Cardinals’ teams reached the World Series three times in the 1980s, winning the Championship in 1982, by leaning on an identity of speed and defense that resonated with baseball fans across the world.
On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Whitey’s family, his friends across the game, and the fans of the Cardinals and the Royals.”
Herzog is best known for his legendary managerial run, but his time in professional baseball started as a player. He signed with the Yankees out of high school and spent a few seasons in the New York farm system. The Yankees traded him to the Washington Senators on the eve of the 1956 campaign. Herzog made his MLB debut in Washington, appearing in more than 100 games as a regular outfielder and hitting .245/.302/.337 as a rookie.
After Herzog made brief appearances with the Senators in each of the next two campaigns, Washington sold his contractual rights to the then-Kansas City A’s. He spent parts of three seasons with the A’s, hitting at a slightly above-average clip (.268/.383/.384) in 209 games. Herzog continued to produce solid results as a part-time player for two years after being traded to the Orioles before finishing his playing days with a brief stint in Detroit. Over parts of eight seasons, he hit .257/.354/.365 with 25 home runs and 172 runs batted in.
While that would’ve been a solid enough career in its own right, Herzog’s status as one of the sport’s all-time figures developed in his post-playing days. After a brief stint as an A’s scout, he moved into coaching and player development with the Mets. After the 1972 campaign, he landed his first managerial gig with the Rangers. That didn’t go well, as Texas stumbled to a 47-91 record and Herzog was fired before the end of the season when the Rangers seized the opportunity to hire Billy Martin.
Herzog spent the next year on the Angels’ coaching staff, a stint that included a four-game run as interim manager. It wasn’t until 1975 when he got his first extended managerial opportunity. The Royals tabbed Herzog that July to take over from Jack McKeon. He led the team to a 41-25 record down the stretch, although that wasn’t enough to overcome a middling 50-46 start to snag a playoff berth.
While the ’75 team fell a few games shy of the postseason, the Royals found plenty of success over the next few years. Herzog guided the team to three straight AL West titles from 1976-78, the first playoff trips in franchise history. While they were knocked off by the Yankees in the ALCS in all three seasons, that stretch of excellent regular season showings was a prelude to October success the following decade.
<img class="alignleft wp-image-807982" src="https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="185" height="278" srcset="https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-682x1024.jpg 682w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-1363x2048.jpg 1363w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-900x1352.jpg 900w, https://cdn.mlbtraderumors.com/files/2024/04/USATSI_10215432-scaled.jpg 1704w" sizes="(max-width: 185px) 100vw, 185px" />
Unfortunately for Royals fans, that came with their in-state rivals. After the Royals missed the playoffs in ’79, Herzog was hired by the Cardinals as both manager and GM. He set about rebuilding the team around speed, defense and contact hitting at the expense of power. While the so-called “Whiteyball” was initially met with some derision, Herzog guided the Cardinals back to the top of the sport.
St. Louis missed the postseason during his first two seasons at the helm before a 92-win showing to snag the NL East title in 1982. After sweeping the Braves in the NLCS, they took on the Brewers in the Fall Classic. The Cards came back from a 3-2 series deficit, erasing a 3-1 lead in Game 7. St. Louis missed the postseason over the next two years but rattled off 101 wins to secure another NL East title in 1985.
Herzog was named the Senior Circuit’s Manager of the Year. A six-game triumph over the Dodgers in the NLCS set the stage for a matchup with his old team. The Cards dropped a classic seven-game set to the upstart Royals, the first title in franchise history. There was no shortage of controversy. With the Cardinals up 3-2 in the series and taking a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth in Game 6, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlb.com/video/denkinger-s-missed-call-c13062921">missed call</a> at first base by Don Denkinger spurred a rally in which Kansas City came back for a 2-1 win. The Royals won the seventh game convincingly.
St. Louis made it back to the World Series once more during Herzog’s tenure. They knocked off the Giants in the 1987 NLCS to set up a showdown with the Twins. That also went seven games, with Minnesota coming back from a 3-2 series deficit to win it. Herzog managed the Cards for another three seasons but didn’t make it back to October. His managerial days ended midway through the 1990 campaign, although he later had a brief stint leading baseball operations for the Angels.
Including his interim work with the Halos, Herzog managed parts of 18 seasons in the majors. He won nearly 1300 regular season games, three pennants and one World Series. The veterans committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2009. He was enshrined in St. Louis’ organizational Hall of Fame a few years later. MLBTR joins countless others around the game in sending condolences to Herzog’s family, friends, loved ones and the many players whose careers he impacted over the decades.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
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<slash:comments>126</slash:comments>
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<title>Royals Sign Zach Davies To Minor League Deal</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-sign-zach-davies-to-minor-league-deal.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-sign-zach-davies-to-minor-league-deal.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Anthony Franco]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:45:51 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Zach Davies]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=807289</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals announced this evening that they’ve signed starter Zach Davies to a minor league pact. The Boras Corporation client has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha. Davies adds a veteran rotation option to the upper levels of the K.C. system. He was in Nationals camp this spring but didn’t make the MLB roster and was cut loose…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals announced this evening that they’ve signed starter <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/davieza02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Zach Davies</a> to a minor league pact. The Boras Corporation client has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha.
Davies adds a veteran rotation option to the upper levels of the K.C. system. He was in Nationals camp this spring but didn’t make the MLB roster and was cut loose just before Opening Day. The 31-year-old righty had struggled in exhibition play, allowing 14 runs in as many innings across four starts.
That came on the heels of a rough 2023 campaign. Davies was tagged for seven earned runs per nine through 18 starts with the Diamondbacks a year ago. He missed some time with a back injury and was released in the days leading up to Arizona’s postseason run. Davies had turned in more serviceable back-of-the-rotation production in the preceding season. He managed a 4.09 ERA despite middling strikeout and walk numbers over 134 1/3 frames with the Snakes in 2022.
Davies doesn’t throw hard and has never missed many bats. He nevertheless posted solid results early in his career on the strength of above-average control and a lot of ground-ball contact. Davies has started exactly 200 games at the major league level and owns a 4.36 ERA in a little more than 1000 innings. He has allowed 5.43 earned runs per nine over the past three seasons, though, in part because his formerly strong walk rates have ticked upwards.
Kansas City’s rotation has been excellent in the first couple weeks. Only the Red Sox had a lower rotation ERA entering play today, as K.C. starters have worked to a microscopic 1.60 mark in their first 10 starts. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raganco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cole Ragans</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brady Singer</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugose01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Seth Lugo</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wachami01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Wacha</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alec Marsh</a> have each taken the ball two times.
The Royals kicked veteran righty <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lylesjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Lyles</a> into multi-inning relief and have <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lynch-008dan&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Daniel Lynch</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bowlajo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jonathan Bowlan</a> as rotation depth in Omaha. Minor league signee <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cessalu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-08_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luis Cessa</a> had initially been assigned to Triple-A but was recently moved to the development list after walking five of his first 23 opponents.
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<title>Royals Acquire Colin Selby From Pirates</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-acquire-colin-selby-from-pirates.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-acquire-colin-selby-from-pirates.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark Polishuk]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 07 Apr 2024 21:58:36 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh Pirates]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Colin Selby]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Josh Taylor]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=807155</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals have acquired right-hander Colin Selby from the Pirates in exchange for minor league left-hander Connor Oliver. Both teams have announced the trade, and Kansas City further noted that left-hander Josh Taylor has been shifted to the 60-day injured list to create space for Selby on the 40-man roster. Pittsburgh designated Selby for assignment…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals have acquired right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/selbyco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-07_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Colin Selby</a> from the Pirates in exchange for minor league left-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=oliver003con&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-07_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Connor Oliver</a>. Both teams have announced the trade, and Kansas City further noted that left-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=taylojo02,taylor013jos&search=Josh+Taylor&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-07_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Josh Taylor</a> has been shifted to the 60-day injured list to create space for Selby on the 40-man roster.
Pittsburgh designated Selby for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade ends Selby’s time with the Bucs after parts of seven pro seasons. A 16th-round pick for Pittsburgh in the 2018 draft, Selby has pitched at Triple-A Indianapolis in each of the last three seasons, with a solid 3.57 ERA and a strong 29.22% strikeout rate over 35 1/3 innings at the top rung of the minor league ladder. Selby’s strikeout totals have spiked upwards since he became a full-time relief pitcher in 2021, and he has posted very high grounder rates, including a superb 61.2% groundball rate in 30 1/3 Triple-A frames last season.
Control is Selby’s main issue, as his walks have shot upwards along with his missed bats. The right-hander has a 16.23% walk rate during his Triple-A career, as well as a 13.2% walk rate over his 24 career innings in the majors. Selby posted a 9.00 ERA in his MLB debut last season, hampered by his free passes and four home runs allowed in his small sample size as a big leaguer — even with a 48.5% grounder rate against Major League batters, Selby couldn’t limit the damage when he allowed fly balls.
K.C. was intrigued enough by Selby’s potential to arrange a trade, and the 26-year-old will now head to Triple-A Omaha so the Royals’ pitching development staff can get a closer look. The Royals felt strongly enough to use a 40-man roster spot on Selby, though Taylor’s uncertain health situation created some flexibility on the team’s roster situation.
Taylor developed both a musculocutaneous nerve issue and left biceps soreness during Spring Training, leading the Royals to place him on the 15-day IL to begin the season. The move to the 60-day IL doesn’t reset Taylor’s clock from its initial retroactive placement of March 25, but it does mean that he’ll now be out of action until at least the last week of May.
It’s another tough setback for Taylor, who has been plagued with back problems for the better part of three years. He missed the 2022 season entirely and underwent surgery last summer to address a herniated disc in his back, hopefully solving that issue once and for all. Between the back injuries, a shoulder impingement, and elbow tendinitis, Taylor has appeared in just 86 games and thrown 72 2/3 innings since the start of the 2020 season. This is Taylor’s second year in Kansas City, as the Royals acquired him from the Red Sox for <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mondera02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-07_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Adalberto Mondesi</a> in January 2023.
Oliver is a 22-year-old southpaw drafted in the 17th round in 2023, and his pro resume thus far consists of a single inning with the Royals’ complex league team last year. The Miami of Ohio product had a 3.89 ERA in 14 starts and 78 2/3 innings in his final year of college ball.
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<title>Voters Reject Stadium Tax For Royals And Chiefs</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/voters-reject-stadium-tax-for-royals-and-chiefs.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/voters-reject-stadium-tax-for-royals-and-chiefs.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Darragh McDonald]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Apr 2024 05:09:05 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=806737</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Voters in Jackson County, Missouri voted overwhelmingly against a sales tax measure that would have given money to the Royals and Chiefs, per reports from Dave Skretta of the Associated Press and Mike Hendricks of The Kansas City Star. 58% of voters were against the measure with just 42% in support. The Royals currently play…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Voters in Jackson County, Missouri voted overwhelmingly against a sales tax measure that would have given money to the Royals and Chiefs, per reports from <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/chiefs-royals-kansas-city-stadiums-e9605296b85e91699441e4ba10e83212">Dave Skretta of the Associated Press</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article287287535.html">Mike Hendricks of The Kansas City Star</a>. 58% of voters were against the measure with just 42% in support.
The Royals currently play in Kauffman Stadium while the Chiefs play in Arrowhead Stadium, with both facilities sitting next to each other as part of the Truman Sports Complex. The Royals are hoping to build a new stadium at a new location, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/royals-to-reveal-plans-for-proposed-new-park.html">revealing some plans</a> back in February. The Chiefs are hoping to stay at Arrowhead but were hoping to secure funding for renovations. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.profootballrumors.com/2024/04/voters-reject-chiefs-stadium-measure">Sam Robinson of Pro Football Rumors</a> recently took a look at the news from the Chiefs’ perspective.
The proposed measure would have replaced an existing three-eighths of a cent capital improvements sales tax, which was approved by voters in 2006, with a new three-eighths of a cent sales tax that would run through 2064. Per the proposal, the money from that tax would help pay for the Royals’ planned new ballpark and renovations of Arrowhead.
Royals owner John Sherman said he was “deeply disappointed” with the result but didn’t reveal what his next steps would be. “We will take some time to reflect on and process the outcome and find a path forward that works for the Royals and our fans,” he said.
Owners of sports franchises often dangle the threat of leaving town as a means of hopefully extracting public money for building or upgrading stadiums. This is something Sherman did in recent weeks, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article286404105.html">Hendricks</a>. “This is about sustaining ourselves as a major league city,” Sherman said last month. “There’s lots of cities that would love to have these franchises.”
Per this week’s reporting, Sherman has backed off of that stance, saying that it was an idea that came from political strategists. “Somebody smarter than me finds that is a message that resonates,” he said to a question about the threat of leaving Kansas City. “But I answer that question with, ‘This is my hometown.’”
The club could alter their proposal to voters but it didn’t seem as though Sherman had a strong appetite for that in the wake of yesterday’s results. “There is no redo of this campaign,” said a joint letter from Sherman and Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt. “This is not going back on the ballot in November. There is no plan B.”
Per the reports from Skretta and Hendricks, voters were against the plan for various reasons, including the lack of financial details and the potential impact on downtown businesses, while some felt the money could be better spent on other priorities like affordable housing or public transportation. The Royals also initially proposed two possible spots for relocation, one on the eastern part of the downtown and the other in Clay County, Missouri, across the Missouri River. They eventually scrapped both of those and settled on a different downtown neighborhood known as the Crossroads, but the plans for that site were still considered to be lacking in detail.
Kauffman Stadium opened in 1973 and is the sixth-oldest of the 30 stadiums in Major League Baseball. Fenway Park opened in 1912, the Cubs began playing in Wrigley Field in 1916, Dodgers Stadium opened in 1962, Angel Stadium in 1966 and the A’s began their tenure at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968. Assuming the A’s successfully move to Las Vegas in the coming years as planned, the Royals will move up to fifth on that list.
The current lease for both the Royals and Chiefs runs through January 31, 2031. The Royals had planned to move into their new stadium for the start of the 2028 season but it’s possible this setback may force them to change that target.
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<title>Royals Sign Brian O’Keefe To Minor League Deal</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-sign-brian-okeefe-catcher.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/04/royals-sign-brian-okeefe-catcher.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Apr 2024 16:45:41 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brian O'Keefe]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=806426</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals announced Monday that they’ve signed catcher Brian O’Keefe to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Omaha tomorrow. O’Keefe spent spring training in the Twins organization after signing a minor league deal with Minnesota, but he was released late four days ago. O’Keefe, 30, has appeared with the Mariners in each of…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals announced Monday that they’ve signed catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/okeefbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brian O’Keefe</a> to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Omaha tomorrow. O’Keefe spent spring training in the Twins organization after signing a minor league deal with Minnesota, but he was released late four days ago.
O’Keefe, 30, has appeared with the Mariners in each of the past two MLB seasons. He has only 25 big league plate appearances under his belt, during which he’s gone 3-for-22 with a pair of doubles. The former seventh-round pick (Cardinals, 2014) is a career .247/.333/.475 hitter in three minor league seasons — including a .238/.328/.504 slash (93 wRC+), 23 home runs and 25 doubles last season.
Behind the plate, O’Keefe has been roughly average in terms of controlling runners (career 25% caught-stealing rate; 18% in 2023). He’s regularly posted excellent framing marks in the upper minors, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/player/104996/brian-okeefe/">per Baseball Prospectus</a>.
The Royals don’t have an immediate opening for help behind the plate. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezsa02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Salvador Perez</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fermifr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Freddy Fermin</a> are both on the big league roster and will handle the entirety of catching duties between them. Kansas City signed veteran <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nolaau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Austin Nola</a> to a one-year major league contract in the offseason and started him in Triple-A Omaha, but the Storm Chasers announced over the weekend that he’d been placed on the injured list. That created a need for some extra depth alongside <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/portelo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Logan Porter</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/croplty01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-04-01_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyler Cropley</a>; O’Keefe will fill that role for the time being and give the Royals an experienced option in the event of an injury to Perez or Fermin.
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<title>AL Central Notes: Royals, Cease, Tigers</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/al-central-notes-royals-cease-tigers.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/al-central-notes-royals-cease-tigers.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Deeds]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 Mar 2024 13:03:35 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Chicago White Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Detroit Tigers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Notes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Austin Nola]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dairon Blanco]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Drew Waters]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dylan Cease]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Michael Massey]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nick Loftin]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Nick Pratto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sawyer Gipson-Long]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=805427</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals’ Opening Day roster has begun to come into focus, as the Royals recently optioned first baseman Nick Pratto, outfielder Drew Waters, and catcher Austin Nola to the minor leagues. Those positional cuts from camp helped to clarify the club’s bench mix, as manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) yesterday that…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals’ Opening Day roster has begun to come into focus, as the Royals recently optioned first baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/prattni01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nick Pratto</a>, outfielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/waterdr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Drew Waters</a>, and catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nolaau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Austin Nola</a> to the minor leagues. Those positional cuts from camp helped to clarify the club’s bench mix, as manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1771578887014600912">MLB.com’s Anne Rogers</a>) yesterday that infielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/loftini01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nick Loftin</a> and outfielder <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=blancda02,blanco001dai&search=Dairon+Blanco&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dairon Blanco</a> have both made the club’s Opening Day roster. Blanco will slot into a reserve outfielder role behind <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/melenmj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">MJ Melendez</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/i/isbelky01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kyle Isbel</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/renfrhu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Hunter Renfroe</a>, and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/velazne01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nelson Velazquez</a>. Meanwhile, Loftin will step into a bench role previously ticketed for veteran <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fraziad01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Adam Frazier</a>, who is set to become the club’s Opening Day second baseman with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=massemi02,massey002mic&search=Michael+Massey&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Massey</a> expected to begin the season on the injured list due to lower back tightness.
It’s an unfortunate development for Massey, who celebrated his 26th birthday earlier this week. The infielder was the club’s everyday option at the keystone last year and performed well on defense but struggled with the bat throughout the season. The youngster showed signs of life in the second half, however, slashing a respectable .250/.285/.458 with 11 home runs in 229 trips to the plate over his final 60 games in 2023. That display left him in line to receive the lion’s share of playing time at second once again this year even after the Royals added Frazier and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hampsga01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Garrett Hampson</a> in free agency. Now that Massey is set to begin the season on the shelf, however, Frazier will have the opportunity to play his way into a larger role early in the season. The 32-year-old veteran has been a roughly league average bat consistently throughout his career, with a .269/.331/.393 slash across eight seasons in the big leagues, including a .240/.300/.396 showing with the Orioles last year.
As for the trio of recent cuts, none of them are especially surprising. Pratto appeared unlikely to have a role with the big league club to open the season thanks to first baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pasquvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Vinnie Pasquantino</a>’s return from labrum surgery and Nelson Velazquez’s emergence as a credible slugger at DH. Waters, similarly, is the odd man out in the club’s crowded outfield mix. Both former top prospects will open the season at Triple-A, providing them an opportunity to receive regular reps they couldn’t get with the big league Royals. Nola starting the season in the minors is hardly a surprise, either, as he joined the club on a split contract that was seemingly designed to allow him to be a backup to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezsa02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Salvador Perez</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fermifr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Freddy Fermin</a> at the Triple-A level.
More from around the AL Central…
<ul>
<li>The White Sox <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/padres-finalizing-deal-for-dylan-cease.html">recently dealt</a> right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/ceasedy01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dylan Cease</a> after months of rumors and speculation, shipping him to the Padres in exchange for a prospect package headlined by <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=thorpe000dre&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Drew Thorpe</a>. Club GM <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/getzch01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Chris Getz</a> recently spoke to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/chris-getz-describes-road-to-dylan-cease-trade">Scott Merkin of MLB.com</a> about the trade and noted that San Diego was one of two clubs who made “significant offers,” with Merkin reporting that the Rangers were the second place finisher for Cease’s services. Getz also made clear that the sides did not engage in extension negotiations amid the winter’s trade rumors, adding that while the club would have “loved” to keep Cease in the fold long term, he felt such an arrangement “wasn’t realistic.” That’s somewhat understandable, as Chicago suffered a 101-loss season last year and appears to have a long way to go before contending again, even in a relatively weak AL Central division. Given that reality, it would’ve been surprising to see the club commit to the sort of significant outlay that would have been required to retain the runner-up for the 2022 AL Cy Young award.</li>
<li>Tigers youngster <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gipsosa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sawyer Gipson-Long</a> once appeared likely to compete with other youngsters such as <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mizeca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Casey Mize</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/olsonre01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Reese Olson</a>, and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mannima02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Matt Manning</a> for a role in the club’s starting rotation alongside <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/skubata01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tarik Skubal</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/flaheja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jack Flaherty</a>, and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maedake01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kenta Maeda</a>. Unfortunately for Gipson-Long, he’s been nursing a left groin strain throughout camp that, as noted by <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/EvanPetzold/status/1771271173013192995">Evan Woodbery of the Detroit Free Press</a>, will lead to him opening the season on the injured list. Gipson-Long, who the club acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in exchange for right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmemi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-24_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Fulmer</a>, made his big league debut late in the season last year and impressed during four starts in the majors. In 20 innings of work, the right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA with a 3.16 FIP while striking out an excellent 31.7% of batters faced. With Mize and Olson now set to start the season in the rotation, Gipson-Long figures to head to Triple-A Toledo once healthy, where he’ll provide Detroit with quality rotation depth alongside Matt Manning and wait for an opportunity in the big leagues.</li>
</ul>
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<slash:comments>35</slash:comments>
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<title>Royals Release Sandy Leon</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-release-sandy-leon.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-release-sandy-leon.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Deeds]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Mar 2024 22:51:04 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Transactions]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sandy Leon]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=805402</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals announced this evening that they’ve catcher Sandy Leon has requested and been granted his release by the organization. Leon had signed with the club on a minor league deal back in January. Leon, 35, made his big league debut with the Nationals back in 2012 and has made appearances in every major league…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals announced this evening that they’ve catcher <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leonsa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sandy Leon</a> has requested and been granted his release by the organization. Leon had signed with the club on a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/01/royals-sign-sandy-leon-to-minor-league-deal.html">minor league deal</a> back in January.
Leon, 35, made his big league debut with the Nationals back in 2012 and has made appearances in every major league season since thanks to his strong reputation as a glove-first catcher. Those frequent opportunities have come in spite of a career .208/.276/.311 slash line at the plate and a below-average wRC+ in eleven of his twelve seasons as a major league player. It’s thanks to his stellar work behind the plate that he continues to receive reps in the majors. Leon has received high marks for work behind the plate from outlets such as FanGraphs, Statcast, and Baseball Prospectus throughout his career, with the former <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?pos=all&lg=all&qual=0&type=1&ind=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0&stats=fld&startdate=&enddate=&month=0&team=0&sortcol=19&sortdir=default&season1=2015&season=2019">ranking him especially well</a> in pitch framing during his stint with the Red Sox from 2015 to 2019.
The Royals seeming brought Leon in as insurance behind the club’s current catching tandem of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/perezsa02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Salvador Perez</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fermifr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Freddy Fermin</a>, allowing them to more comfortably move youngster <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/melenmj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">MJ Melendez</a> to the outfield on a full-time basis. Since then, however, Kansas City signed <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nolaau01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Austin Nola</a> to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/royals-austin-nola-agree-to-minor-league-deal.html">big league split-contract</a> that will allow him to serve as the club’s third catcher headed into the 2024 season. That left Leon as a mostly superfluous addition for the club, and the veteran hit just .118/.167/.118 this spring while striking out in seven of his 18 plate appearances with the club. Between that performance and the fact that Leon is largely blocked at that big league level in Kansas City, it’s not necessarily a shock that the sides are parting ways.
With Opening Day on the horizon, Leon will return to free agency in search of a major league deal or, more likely, a more attractive minor league pact that offers him a clearer path back to the majors. Given the constant need for catching depth around the game, he should have little trouble securing such an arrangement, which would also allow him to serve as a mentor for younger catchers the club has in its minor league system. As for the Royals, the club will likely lean on the likes of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/croplty01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyler Cropley</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/portelo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-23_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Logan Porter</a> in the event that injuries force the club to rely on a fourth catcher behind Perez, Fermin, and Nola.
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<slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
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<title>Royals Name Alec Marsh Fifth Starter; Jordan Lyles To Open Season In Bullpen</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-alec-marsh-wins-fifth-starter-rotation-jordan-lyles-bullpen.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-alec-marsh-wins-fifth-starter-rotation-jordan-lyles-bullpen.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:37:05 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Alec Marsh]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Angel Zerpa]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Anthony Veneziano]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Daniel Lynch]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jordan Lyles]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=805033</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Royals have settled on a fifth starter, with manager Matt Quatraro announcing Thursday that right-hander Alec Marsh will begin the season in the rotation (X link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The 25-year-old former second-round pick beat a group of Jordan Lyles, Angel Zerpa, Daniel Lynch IV and Anthony Veneziano for that spot. Lyles…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Royals have settled on a fifth starter, with manager Matt Quatraro announcing Thursday that right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alec Marsh</a> will begin the season in the rotation (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1770855241501544504">X link</a> via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). The 25-year-old former second-round pick beat a group of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lylesjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jordan Lyles</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/z/zerpaan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Angel Zerpa</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lynchda02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Daniel Lynch IV</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/venezan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Anthony Veneziano</a> for that spot. Lyles and Zerpa will both begin the season in relief roles, per Quatraro. (The Zerpa decision was announced last night.) Lynch and Veneziano, meanwhile, were optioned to Triple-A Omaha last night and will presumably work as starters there.
Kansas City entered camp with four of their five rotation spots set. Lefty <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raganco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cole Ragans</a>, acquired for <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chapmar01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Aroldis Chapman</a> last summer, enjoyed a huge breakout showing following that swap and will be the team’s Opening Day starter. He’ll be followed in some order by offseason signees <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugose01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Seth Lugo</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wachami01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Wacha</a>, as well as returning right-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-21_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brady Singer</a>.
[Related: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/offseason-in-review-kansas-city-royals-15.html">Offseason in Review: Kansas City Royals</a>]
Per Quatraro, Marsh simply outperformed the rest of the field this spring in what the team considered a genuine competition (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1770858886192329040">X link</a> via Rogers). The right-hander has indeed been sharp, pitching 14 innings with a 1.93 ERA, 17-to-4 K/BB ratio and massive 68.8% ground-ball rate. That performance, per Quatraro, “exceeded what we could have hoped for.” Lyles, perhaps his primary competition, didn’t make things particularly competitive. In two official appearances, the veteran pitched five innings and was tagged for five runs on eight hits (four homers) and a walk with four strikeouts.
The 6’2″, 220-pound Marsh ranked as the Royals’ No. 14 prospect entering the 2023 season, per Baseball America. His big league debut included 74 1/3 innings of 5.69 ERA ball. Marsh made eight starts and another nine relief appearances. He fanned a quarter of his opponents but also issued walks at an 11.4% clip. Marsh was exceptionally homer-prone, yielding an average of 1.94 homers per nine frames thanks to a paltry 34.6% ground-ball rate.
Marsh debuted a new-look sinker late in the 2023 season, throwing the pitch for the first time on Aug. 27. He used it only 10-15% of the time for his first few outings with the new offering, but tossed it at a 27.4% clip in his final two outings of the season. The work on the new two-seamer has paid off in a small sample of spring appearances — at least if Marsh’s eye-popping grounder rate is any indication. He can’t be expected to maintain that level, which would make him one of the game’s premier ground-ball pitchers, but it’s an encouraging trend for a pitcher who sported just a 30.8% grounder rate prior to unleashing that new pitch last season.
If Marsh can step up and solidify himself as a rotation cog, he’ll be a long-term option. The Royals still control him for a full six seasons. Marsh only picked up 94 days of service time last year, meaning he’s not even on track for Super Two eligibility. He won’t be arbitration-eligible until the conclusion of the 2026 season and can’t become a free agent until the 2029-30 offseason. Future optional assignments could impact either trajectory, but the organizational hope is surely that Marsh will hit the ground running and won’t need further seasoning in Triple-A.
As for Lyles, the move to the ’pen isn’t how he or the baseball operations staff envisioned things going. The veteran righty inked a two-year, $17MM contract last offseason in hopes that he’d fill the same innings eater role in which he’d found success with the 2022 Orioles. Instead, Lyles was rocked for 6.28 ERA. He took the ball 31 times and soaked up 177 2/3 frames, but his starts were too often non-competitive for a 56-win Royals club. Lyles’ 16% strikeout rate was one of the lowest of his career, and while he maintained a very strong 6% walk rate, he also allowed an average of 1.98 long balls per nine frames — third-highest in MLB among qualified pitchers.
Lyles is earning $8.5MM this season, and the Royals still have some inexperience in their rotation in the form of Marsh and Ragans. Sophomore struggles from either pitcher and/or injuries elsewhere in the rotation could lead to Lyles starting some games even if he begins the year in a long relief role.
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<slash:comments>15</slash:comments>
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<title>31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/31-veterans-with-opt-out-opportunities-looming-this-week.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/31-veterans-with-opt-out-opportunities-looming-this-week.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2024 22:21:30 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Arizona Diamondbacks]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Baltimore Orioles]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Boston Red Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chicago Cubs]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chicago White Sox]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Cleveland Guardians]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Los Angeles Angels]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Miami Marlins]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[MLBTR Originals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[New York Mets]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Pittsburgh Pirates]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tampa Bay Rays]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Texas Rangers]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Toronto Blue Jays]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Washington Nationals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Brad Keller]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Bryan Shaw]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[C.J. Cron]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Carl Edwards Jr.]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Carlos Carrasco]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Chase Anderson]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Curt Casali]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[David Peralta]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Dominic Leone]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Drew Pomeranz]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eddie Rosario]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Eduardo Escobar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Elvis Andrus]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Garrett Cooper]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jake Marisnick]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jake Odorizzi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jesse Chavez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jesse Winker]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Ji-Man Choi]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joely Rodriguez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Joey Votto]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jose Urena]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kevin Pillar]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Kolten Wong]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Matt Barnes]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Matt Duffy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Michael Fulmer]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Mike Moustakas]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Roberto Perez]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Shane Greene]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Tyler Duffey]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=804869</guid>
<description><![CDATA[One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.
The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.
Angels: OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marisja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jake Marisnick</a>, LHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pomerdr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Drew Pomeranz</a>
Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wardta01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Taylor Ward</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/troutmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mike Trout</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moniami01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mickey Moniak</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hicksaa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Aaron Hicks</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/adelljo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jo Adell</a> on the 40-man roster.
The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.
Blue Jays: 3B/2B <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/escobed01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Eduardo Escobar</a>, 1B <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vottojo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Joey Votto</a>
A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kineris01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Isiah Kiner-Falefa</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/espinsa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Santiago Espinal</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/biggica01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Cavan Biggio</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/clemeer01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ernie Clement</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schneda03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Davis Schneider</a>.
Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.
Cubs: 1B/OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=coopega03,cooper007gar&search=Garrett+Cooper&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Garrett Cooper</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/e/edwarca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Carl Edwards Jr.</a>, OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peralda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">David Peralta</a>
An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/buschmi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Busch</a>.
Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.
Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.
Diamondbacks: SS <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/andruel01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Elvis Andrus</a>
Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.
Guardians: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carraca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Carlos Carrasco</a>
Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=williga01,willia002gav&search=Gavin+Williams&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Gavin Williams</a>’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.
Marlins: C <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/casalcu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Curt Casali</a>
The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/forteni01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nick Fortes</a> or <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bethach01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Christian Bethancourt</a>, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.
Mets: 1B/DH <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/choiji01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ji Man Choi</a>
From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stewadj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DJ Stewart</a> and others.
Nationals: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=barnema01,barnes004mat,barnes003mat&search=Matt+Barnes&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Matt Barnes</a>, OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rosared01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Eddie Rosario</a>, OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/winkeje01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jesse Winker</a>
Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.
Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.
Orioles: 2B <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wongko01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kolten Wong</a>
The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hollid000jac&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jackson Holliday</a> or <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mayo--000cob&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Coby Mayo</a>, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.
Pirates: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=anderch01,anders021cha,anders019cha&search=Chase+Anderson&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Chase Anderson</a>
It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=ortizlu03,ortizlu02&search=Luis+Ortiz&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luis Ortiz</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=jones-013jar,jones-008jar&search=Jared+Jones&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jared Jones</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/contrro01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Roansy Contreras</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/germado01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Domingo German</a> and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.
Rangers: INF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=duffyma01,duffyma02,duffy-002mat&search=Matt+Duffy&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Matt Duffy</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greensh02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Shane Greene</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=urenajo01,urena-005jos&search=Jose+Urena&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jose Urena</a>
A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=smithjo11,smith-057jos,smith-056jos,smith-053jos,smith-035jos,smith-030jos,smith-037jos&search=Josh+Smith&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Josh Smith</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/duranez01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ezequiel Duran</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=foscue000jus&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Justin Foscue</a> all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lowena01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Nathaniel Lowe</a> will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walshja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jared Walsh</a>’s benefit more than Duffy.
Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.
The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.
Rays: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/odorija01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jake Odorizzi</a>
Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.
Red Sox: 1B <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/croncj01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">C.J. Cron</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fulmemi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Fulmer</a>, C <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=perezro02,perez-017rob&search=Roberto+Perez&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Roberto Perez</a>, LHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrijo06.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Joely Rodriguez</a>
Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/casastr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Triston Casas</a> and/or <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yoshima02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Masataka Yoshida</a> at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.
Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcguire01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Reese McGuire</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wongco01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Connor Wong</a> behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.
Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.
Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.
Royals: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=duffety01,duffey001tyl&search=Tyler+Duffey&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Tyler Duffey</a>
Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.
White Sox: RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chaveje01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jesse Chavez</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kellebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brad Keller</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leonedo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dominic Leone</a>, 3B/1B <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moustmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Mike Moustakas</a>, OF <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pillake01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kevin Pillar</a>, RHP <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shawbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Bryan Shaw</a>
Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.
Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.
Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.
Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/moncayo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Yoan Moncada</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=vaughan01,vaughn001and&search=Andrew+Vaughn&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Andrew Vaughn</a> at the corners, plus <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheetga01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Gavin Sheets</a> as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.
Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beninan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Andrew Benintendi</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fletcdo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dominic Fletcher</a>. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roberlu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Luis Robert Jr.</a> in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.
Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.
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<title>Royals Notes: Lacy, Brentz, Long</title>
<link>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-asa-lacy-tommy-john-surgery-jake-brentz-hamstring-strain.html</link>
<comments>https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/royals-asa-lacy-tommy-john-surgery-jake-brentz-hamstring-strain.html#comments</comments>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Steve Adams]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:01:25 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Kansas City Royals]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Asa Lacy]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Jake Brentz]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Sam Long]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=804940</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Royals left-hander Asa Lacy announced on Instagram that he’ll miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’ll likely be sidelined into the early portion of the 2025 campaign. Lacy, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 draft after a standout college career at Texas A&M, ranked as one of the sport’s top…]]></description>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Royals left-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lacy--000asa&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Asa Lacy</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4uF3B6Ldup/?img_index=1">announced on Instagram</a> that he’ll miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He’ll likely be sidelined into the early portion of the 2025 campaign.
Lacy, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 draft after a standout college career at Texas A&M, ranked as one of the sport’s top pitching prospects in the year following that selection but has seen injuries and shaky performance tank his stock. Shoulder and back injuries have hobbled the lefty to this point in his pro career. He didn’t throw a pitch for a Royals affiliate in 2023 and will now also miss the ’24 campaign. Overall, Lacy has just 80 innings pitched since being drafted, and he’s posted a 7.09 ERA with a 21.3% walk rate in that time.
Lacy won’t turn 25 until June. There’s still time for him to eventually get back to full strength and resume the once-promising trajectory that made him a slam-dunk first-round pick and had him in the conversation for the No. 1 overall selection at times heading into that 2020 draft. As it stands, Lacy is one of several high-profile college arms around whom the Royals structured their most recent rebuilding efforts — an endeavor that simply hasn’t panned out.
Lacy, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/singebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brady Singer</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lynchda02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Daniel Lynch IV</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bubickr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Kris Bubic</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kowarja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jackson Kowar</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Alec Marsh</a> are among the names the club envisioned filling out a pipeline of young pitching. Singer has at times looked like a high-end starter but has lacked consistency. The others have yet to establish themselves in the majors. Stalled development among that group of college arms has been one of the key reasons for the Royals’ struggles in recent years and was surely a driving factor behind the team’s decision to spend a combined $77MM to sign <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugose01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Seth Lugo</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wachami01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Michael Wacha</a> in free agency this winter.
Kansas City will also be without lefty <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brentja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Jake Brentz</a> for a decent chunk of time. The 29-year-old reliever has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss at least six weeks of action, manager Matt Quatraro announced to the team’s beat this week (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1770202359148474732?s=20">X link</a> via Anne Rogers of MLB.com).
Brentz was a solid member of the K.C. bullpen back in 2021, tossing 64 innings with a 3.66 ERA, 15 holds and a pair of saves. His 13.3% walk rate was an obvious reason for concern, but Brentz helped to mitigate his sub-par command with a hearty 27.3% strikeout rate and strong 49% ground-ball rate. Injuries have taken their toll on the southpaw over the past several years, however. He dealt with a shoulder impingement late in that 2021 season and saw his 2022 campaign almost entirely wiped out by a flexor strain and a subsequent UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery.
Brentz inked a two-year, $1.9MM deal with the Royals covering the 2023-24 seasons, with the clear hope that he’d be at full strength again this year and serve as a key member of the bullpen. But a lat strain (coupled with that Tommy John rehab) limited him to just 2 2/3 minor league frames last year. He’s struggled mightily this spring, walking 11 of his 32 opponents and yielding a whopping 14 runs in just 5 1/3 innings of Cactus League action. When healthy, Brentz averaged 97 mph with his heater, missed bats in droves and kept the ball on the ground nicely. It’s been three years since we’ve seen that version of the lefty, but he’ll have the rest of this season and potentially another two years of arbitration eligibility with the Royals to get back on track.
The injury to Brentz thins out the competition for the final couple bullpen spots in Kansas City. One name that’s impressed the club thus far in camp, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/kansas-city-royals/article286850185.html">writes Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star</a>, is left-hander <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/longsa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&utm_campaign=2024-03-20_br" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Sam Long</a>. In camp as a non-roster invitee, the former A’s and Giants hurler has tossed 7 1/3 frames and held opponents to one run on five hits and a walk with 13 punchouts.
Long, 28, signed a minor league deal back in December. He’s pitched in the majors in each of the past three seasons, logging 128 innings between MLB’s two Bay Area clubs. In that time, Long has pitched to a 4.92 ERA with an 18.5% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. He’s at 1.160 years of big league service time, so if he wins a spot in Kansas City’s bullpen and can cement himself as a consistent option, they’d be able to control him for as many as five seasons.
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