The Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Royals, recently released three players, according to their transactions tracker (hat tip to Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.) The players are outfielder Roman Quinn, along with right-handers Brad Peacock and Brandon Barker.
Quinn, 29, has gotten all of his MLB action in a Phillies uniform thus far, having played 201 games with them from 2016 to the present. He was once considered a very interesting prospect of the Phils, even cracking Baseball America’s top 100 in 2013. However, he hasn’t been able to deliver on his promise, primarily due to injuries. The 50 games he played in 2018 is still his career high.
That stop-and-start nature to his career has seemingly prevented him from ever getting into a good groove at the plate. His career batting line is .223/.300/.343. He’s still been able to provide speed and defense, however, racking up 43 steals and producing seven Outs Above Average in his limited time in the majors.
At the end of last season, he was designated for assignment by the Phils and has bounced around quite a bit since then. The Marlins signed him to a minor league deal in March but cut him prior to Opening Day. He rejoined the Phillies on a minors deal and got called up at the end of April. He was used sparingly though, garnering just 40 plate appearances in over a month, before being designated for assignment in early June.
After electing free agency, he signed a minors deal with the Royals and has been with Omaha since then. In over a month with the Storm Chasers, he was put into just seven games but hit well in that small sample. Despite a batting line of .250/.406/.500, the Royals have let him go.
Peacock, 34, has spent the bulk of his career with the Astros, pitching for them from 2013 to 2020, as both a starter and a reliever. His most effective stretch was from 2016 to 2019, as he appeared in 128 games, 42 of them starts, throwing 320 1/3 innings. In that time, he registered a 3.48 ERA, along with a 28.7% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate.
Unfortunately, injuries limited him to just 2 1/3 innings in 2020 and he wasn’t able to get things back on track last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals prior to this season and has thrown 38 1/3 excellent innings with the Storm Chasers. He has a 1.64 ERA on the year, along with a 27.6% strikeout rate, 9.8% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate. Despite that solid showing, the Royals have decided to cut him loose, perhaps to give his innings to younger up-and-coming pitchers.
Barker, 29, was drafted by Atlanta in 16th round of the 2014 draft. He went to the Orioles in the 2016 trade that sent Brian Matusz to Atlanta. He later went to the Marlins in the minor league phase of the 2017 Rule 5 draft, followed by some stints in Indy Ball. He signed a minors deal with the Royals last year and threw 52 innings for the Storm Chasers but has been limited by injury to just a single frame here in 2022.
Ironically, ATL got a comp pick in the Matusz trade as well, which became Brett Cumberland who they dealt to – Baltimore.
The Orioles got hozed in that trade neither player will be a MLB caliber of player
Peacock has had a really good career.
Matuz was once considered to be part of the future of Baltimore pitching. He faded fast.
Yet they continue to employ Cal Eldred.
Peacock seems like a guy you give MLB innings and hope to trade at the deadline. His AAA stats warranted it.
Looks like a better prospect then quite a few of the Royals and Brewers! HUH!
So, when contending teams are begging for bullpen help, the Royals just let an asset go? Oof with a capital O-O-F
The writer a bit behind , Peacock picked up two weeks ago by the Jays and is at Aaa Buffalo
Wrong Peacock dude.
That’s Matt Peacock, not Brad.
Sorry lol trouble getting my own Peacock straight
Ed, if you have a curve in your peacock, you should probably get that checked out!
Lol doc said use the slider more often
I can’t imagine Peacock would bring back much based on AAA stats, but surely a team in need of bullpen help might have been willing to pony up some cash for someone with numbers as good as his this year.
making room for something
I can see Quinn going back to the Marlins or maybe the A’s
What happened to Peacock ? Dude was a constant streamer a couple years ago
Quinn has pictures of somebody in Philly. Probably will be in Lehigh by the weekend
Ought to be in Philly this weekend, not Allentown. Play Quinn every day in CF. Release Odubel. He stinks.
No more Roman Quinn. If he’s in Philly this weekend, he’ll be on the IL by Monday …
Peacock to Astros.
I’d wager Peacock could be going to an NPB/KBO team to be a starter.
Brad Peacock has thrown 38 innings, with a 1.64 ERA & gets waived!
With all the teams needing pitching, I’m shocked Peacock is looking
for a job.
We’ll see peacock in the bigs as early as this weekend
Pretty sure Peacock was DFA’d a few days ago, which means any team could’ve just straight claimed him on waivers but no one did.
I wonder what Peacock’s fastball velocity is these days? Perhaps it is way down from career norms and that’s why he has not been claimed yet. You can’t argue his effectiveness in AAA, good velocity or not. He paired his 1.64 ERA with a WHIP of 1.28 so he wasn’t complement dominant but he also didn’t strand a ton of runners either. If his velocity is still reasonable, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a team give him a shot out of their major league bullpen after a short stint in the minors. Just about every team in the league can use bullpen help right about now and the price is right on Peacock; any team can afford him.
Roman Quinn still has value and more than half MLB teams could benefit with a switch hitting CF with speed.
Agree. As a second round pick who has been hampered by injuries, he’ll assuredly get a shot with another MLB team. Plays excellent defense, and his SB vs. CS numbers, both in the majors and minors, are Vince Coleman like.
If Billy Hamilton (Marlins) is in the majors, then so should Roman Quinn. With Benitendi and Taylor supposedly on the trading block, I was somewhat surprised the Royals let Quinn go.
Possible landing spots for Quinn in no particular order:
GIANTS: A reunion with Gabe Kapler? You just know would like to show the Phillies he can get something out of Quinn that they could not.
BREWERS: If there’s a serious contender that is definitely in need of a CF, it’s the Brewers. With Renfroe in LF and Yelich in RF, having a jet in CF would be an asset.
YANKEES: They have enough fire power elsewhere. Save Judge’s legs and let Quinn patrol CF. He’d be a spark on the base paths, too.
PHILLIES: Sooner or later they’ll get tired of the mess they play in CF. Moniak already demoted. Odubel sucks big time. Vierling is a nice story, but if he plays every day he’ll most likely hit .230 with modest, very modest, pop. If I’m Dombro, I’d sign Quinn today and release Odubel.
I was going to make a list in order but it turned out to be a 23 team list. The Brewers, Jays and Reds topped my list.
It’s been a black hole since Victorino left. That’s an indictment of their scouting and player development.
Peacock will be in the bigs soon. He has always been a reliable pitcher.