Headlines

  • Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves
  • Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement
  • Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller
  • Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals
  • Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson
  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals Sign Anthony Swarzak

By Steve Adams | May 20, 2021 at 8:53am CDT

Though the team hasn’t made a formal announcement to this point, the Royals have signed veteran reliever Anthony Swarzak to a minor league contract. The move is reflected on the transactions log at MLB.com, and Swarzak is listed on the roster with the organization’s top affiliate in Omaha. The Royals also inked former Rockies, Rangers and Cubs right-hander Eddie Butler earlier this month and did so without a formal announcement. Butler has tossed four innings in Triple-A with the Storm Chasers already.

Swarzak, 35, didn’t pitch in the Majors in 2019 but returned to the big leagues with the D-backs in 2021. It was a brief and unsuccessful pairing, as the well-traveled righty yielded five runs on seven hits and a walk with four strikeouts through just 4 2/3 innings. Arizona designated Swarzak for assignment on April 18 and released him a week later. Prior to that brief run with the D-backs, Swarzak’s most recent big league stint was a solid run with the 2019 Braves, during which he tossed 39 1/3 innings of 4.31 ERA ball.

While he’s pitched for nine Major League teams across parts of 11 seasons and accrued more than eight years of big league service time, Swarzak remarkably hasn’t spent consecutive seasons with a team since 2013-14 with the Twins, who selected him in the second round of the 2004 draft. Swarzak spent five seasons in Minnesota but has since spent time with the Indians, Yankees, Brewers, White Sox, Mets, Mariners, Braves and D-backs. If he makes it to the Majors with the Royals, they’ll be his tenth MLB club and his fourth AL Central team. In 645 2/3 big league innings, Swarzak has a 4.36 ERA with a 17.8 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate, although his strikeout rate has spiked considerably since moving to short relief stints in the second half of his career.

As for 30-year-old Butler, he ranked as one of the game’s best pitching prospects with the Rockies after being selected with the No. 46 overall pick back in 2012. He posted strong numbers up through Double-A before struggling a bit in Triple-A, and his work at the MLB level has produced just a 5.80 ERA in 263 2/3 innings. Butler has since pitched in the KBO and on the independent circuit. He was slated to open the 2021 season with the Atlantic League’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs before the Royals signed him earlier this month.

Share 0 Retweet 11 Send via email0

Kansas City Royals Transactions Anthony Swarzak Eddie Butler

Reds Place Mike Moustakas On 10-Day Injured List
Main
D-backs Nearing Deal With Noe Ramirez
View Comments (11)
Post a Comment

11 Comments

  1. getrealgone2

    4 years ago

    He pitched for the Braves in 2019

    1
    Reply
  2. The Baseball Fan

    4 years ago

    LOL he’s finally found a place where he belongs

    Reply
  3. Metsfan9

    4 years ago

    Poor Eddie isn’t even relevant enough to make the title.

    Reply
  4. Bo's Throws

    4 years ago

    Swarzak can’t be worse than Wade Davis at this point.

    1
    Reply
  5. When it was a game.

    4 years ago

    4.31 ERA is solid?

    Reply
    • gbs42

      4 years ago

      It was an ERA+ of 110, so yes, solid.

      1
      Reply
      • When it was a game.

        4 years ago

        Sorry i just dont get all these new stats.

        Reply
        • gbs42

          4 years ago

          He posted a 4.31 ERA when the average ERA was around 4.8, so he was above average.

          2
          Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      4 years ago

      Solidly mediocre, which defines Swarzak’s career in a nutshell.

      Reply
  6. PutPeteinthehall

    4 years ago

    Two more guys to be called up for a double header or if bullpen is used up. When they get knocked around or another pitcher comes off the DL then a DFA. If there is a waiver claim the same thing happens to the player with the new team. The pressure knowing it might just be an outing or two that defines the future of your career must be immense. The player can end up performing but still end up cut due to the numbers game.

    Reply
  7. Peart of the game

    4 years ago

    Butler is just roster filler in AAA since he was trash in the KBO, Swarzak might have something left in the tank though

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Kyle Gibson Announces Retirement

    Yankees Interested In Mitch Keller

    Pirates Trade Adam Frazier To Royals

    Mets, Yankees Among Teams To Show Recent Interest In David Robertson

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Recent

    Guardians’ Luis Ortiz Placed On Leave Due To “Ongoing League Investigation”

    Front Office Subscriber Chat With Anthony Franco: TODAY At 2:00pm Central

    Angels To Sign No. 2 Overall Pick Tyler Bremner

    Cubs To Sign Spencer Turnbull

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Cleveland Guardians

    Latest On Cardinals’ Bullpen Trade Candidates

    The Opener: Key Series To Watch, Wright, Trout

    Rangers Trade Dane Dunning To Braves

    Draft Signings: Braves, Angels

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Texas Rangers

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version