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Hunter Renfroe, Chris Stratton Exercise Player Options

By Anthony Franco | October 31, 2024 at 8:24pm CDT

Outfielder Hunter Renfroe and reliever Chris Stratton triggered player options in their deals with the Royals, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (X links). Kansas City declined its end of a mutual option on infielder Adam Frazier, per Feinsand. In other Royals’ news, lefty reliever Josh Taylor elected free agency, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Kansas City evidently ran him through outright waivers instead of reinstating him from the 60-day injured list.

All three option decisions went as expected. Renfroe, Stratton and Frazier each signed as free agents last winter. None had a particularly good season. That made it a straightforward call for the players who could return to pass on their chances to retest the market, while the front office had a similarly easy call to move on from Frazier.

Renfroe returns on a $7.5MM salary. He’ll look to improve on this year’s middling .229/.297/.392 slash line. Renfroe hit 15 homers but reached base at less than a .300 clip for a second consecutive season. It was a replacement level performance altogether. He’ll be penciled back in as the starting right fielder for the moment, but the corner outfield is a clear area for the front office to try to upgrade.

Stratton secures a $4.5MM salary. His deal contained a $500K buyout, so that was a $4MM call. The veteran right-hander would probably be limited to minor league offers if he were a free agent. He struggled to a 5.55 earned run average through 58 1/3 innings this past season. It’s not a guarantee that the Royals keep him on the roster all winter. If they do bring him back, they’ll hope to get something closer to the 82 2/3 innings of 3.92 ball that he provided the Cardinals and Rangers in 2023.

Frazier gets a $2.5MM buyout instead of an $8.5MM salary. The former All-Star second baseman hasn’t hit much since being traded from Pittsburgh to San Diego in 2021. That continued during what looks like it’ll be his lone season in Kansas City. Frazier hit .202/.282/.294 while appearing in 104 games. Michael Massey outplayed him to take the second base job. Frazier might need to settle for a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite this winter.

As for Taylor, this effectively serves as an early non-tender. He was eligible for arbitration for a final time. While he was projected for a modest $1.1MM salary, the Royals didn’t want to create a 40-man roster spot after he missed the entire 2024 season. Taylor lost this year to a biceps injury and has also struggled with back issues in recent years.

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Kansas City Royals Transactions Adam Frazier Chris Stratton Hunter Renfroe Josh Taylor

Jordan Montgomery Exercises Player Option With D-Backs
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Offseason Outlook: Boston Red Sox
View Comments (5)
Post a Comment

5 Comments

  1. FartPocket

    12 months ago

    Down goes Frazier (‘s career)

    2
    Reply
    • CardsFan57

      12 months ago

      With $2.5 million in severance pay

      Reply
      • FartPocket

        12 months ago

        Better than a pizza party.

        1
        Reply
  2. JeffMann

    12 months ago

    The next question is what will Wacha do?

    Reply
    • Kc smoke

      12 months ago

      I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t opt out.

      Reply

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