The Royals announced that infielder Hanser Alberto and right-hander Scott Blewett have cleared outright waivers and elected free agency. Kansas City’s 40-man roster tally now sits at 38, but they have an additional four players on the 60-day injured list who will need to be reinstated before the start of the offseason.
Alberto had been eligible for arbitration, so the Royals’ designation will function as an early non-tender. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Alberto to land a $2.1MM salary in 2022, a price the club deemed too high after a below-average showing. It’s the second consecutive winter in which Alberto has been cut loose, as the Orioles non-tendered him last offseason.
Baltimore’s regular second baseman from 2019-20, Alberto signed a minor league deal with K.C. and cracked the Opening Day roster, locking in a $1.65MM salary. He spent the year in a utility role, starting games at each of third base, second base and shortstop. Over 255 plate appearances, the 29-year-old hit .270/.291/.402 with a pair of home runs.
Alberto has been one of the game’s tougher players to strike out in recent years, helping him post consistently strong batting averages. That has come with virtually no walks or power, though, capping his overall value. By measure of wRC+, Alberto was sixteen percentage points below the league average this past season, and his 1.4% walk rate was the second-lowest mark of the 362 hitters with 200+ plate appearances. He might be looking at another minors pact this winter.
Blewett was not arbitration eligible, but the Kansas City front office evidently determined they didn’t wish to devote him a 40-man roster spot all winter. Blewett was passed through outright waivers in April but re-selected to the big league club in September. He tossed five innings of one-run ball there, but he was far less effective with Triple-A Omaha.
The 25-year-old Blewett worked in a swing capacity for the Storm Chasers, tossing 69 innings in 23 appearances (including ten starts). He posted a 6.39 ERA, largely on account of the nineteen homers he served up. The Royals’ second-round pick in 2014, Blewett now hits the open market and could find himself in a different organization for the first time in his pro career.
I know that BA isn’t considered to be as valuable any more but normally you don’t see a player who hits well pass thru waivers. Granted, not much power and a low OBP but the guy hits .300. Not saying he’s great or anything…
There’s no power, no good OBP, & no speed. Good D, but he’s just a backup, not a starter. (Alberto)
It’s not that he isn’t good enough to be a functional utility infielder somewhere but no one is going to claim and pay him $2.1 mil for it.
Why do teams keep getting rid of this guy? Good contact guy and his average is always about 20-30 points better than league average. Im guessing his fielding isn’t very good? I’d like the Mets to pick him up
Because he’s a guy you don’t waste a 40 man roster spot on until april if he makes your team. I like Alberto as a utility player and i could see the Royals possibly bringing him back. However, i can also see Mondesi playing in a super utility role when Witt Jr. is ready at some point next season, so who knows
Pretty much a one-dimensional player. Decent BA, but doesn’t walk, no power, average defense, and isn’t particularly fast.
We’re approaching that point in the soon-to-be offseason when teams need to make decisions in advance of setting their 40-man rosters as they prepare for the Rule 5 draft. Promising minor league players with a certain number of years of service will need to be added, which means a MLB player such as Alberto becomes expendable. He’s not worth a 40-man roster spot in November, even though he will be worth a 26-man MLB roster spot for some team come April.
Being a pitcher and having the last name Blew It, seems like a conflict of interest.
Bob Walk and Grant Balfour had nice careers with names that also seemed out of place on a pitcher.
If whats in a name is true i don’t envy Cole Winn
Grant Balfour. The automatic walk rule pretty much ended his career.
Don’t forget Homer Bailey.
he’ll be on someone’s OD roster next year.
My guess would be Pittsburgh. He seems to gravitate toward teams with no ambition for winning that season.
Alberto would be a perfect player for Japan or Korea, they would love him over there. It’d be just like the Squid Game!
Hanser Alberto has never met a pitch he wouldn’t swing at.
Welp another opportunity scott blew