The Rays announced Monday that they’ve traded outfielder Kameron Misner to the Royals in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Tampa Bay had designated Misner for assignment last week. The Royals’ 40-man roster count climbs to 36.
Misner, 28 in January, has received limited big league action with the Rays over the past two seasons. Overall, he has 232 big league plate appearances. 34.1% of those ended in a strikeout and 6.9% resulted in a walk, both subpar figures. That has led to a .203/.260/.325 batting line. He got squeezed off Tampa’s roster last week.
Despite that tepid offensive showing thus far, there are reasons why the Royals would be interested. His sprint speed was ranked in the 75th percentile this year and he stole eight bases in nine tries. His work in the outfield this year resulted in five Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average.
It’s also possible that there’s more in the bat than he has shown so far. From 2023 to 2025, he took 1,203 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. In those, he slashed .233/.358/.449 for a wRC+ of 106, with a really strong 15.7% walk rate. His 31.7% strikeout rate in that time wasn’t great but he at least showed signs of improvement. When he first arrived at Triple-A in 2023, he was punched out at a massive 35.8% clip, but he got that down to 29.3% and then 26.1% in the two most recent seasons.
The Royals have been struggling to put together a good outfield group for years. In the 2025 season, the club’s outfielders posted a collective .225/.285/.348 line. The resultant wRC+ of 73 was dead last in the majors.
Misner still has an option remaining, so he doesn’t need to be guaranteed a job on the big league roster. Currently, the Royals project to have Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, John Rave, Dairon Blanco, MJ Melendez and Drew Waters. They front office will likely be on the lookout for more meaningful upgrades throughout the offseason. For now, Misner gives them another option to at least bolster the floor with his speed and defense. If his bat takes a step forward, he could separate himself from the pack. If not, he can at least be in Triple-A as depth.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
As a pirate fan really felt this would have been a good pick up
Agreed
The hot stove is scorching!!
Heck yeah! Maybe this time tomorrow we will be talking about two actual players being traded for each other.
My Mom used to say “A watched pot never boils”
It always boiled for me!
The former Mizzou Tiger is coming back to Missouri!
Oh, he’s a Missouri tiger?
Minimal risk depth pickup, especially if he has an option left for 2026.
he does have an option remaining. Drew Waters is out of options and MJ Melendez is projected 2.65 mill in arb. I could see Misner beating out John Rave for a bench spot
They need Bellinger tho
I think it would take a lot more than a year supply of barbecue at every barbecue restaurant in Kansas City. Multiply that by six years worth of barbecue and then his own parking place his own cheering section and he gets to lead the singing during the seventh inning stretch. that’s the only way you’re gonna get him to sign.
No, they don’t, his ego wouldn’t fit in the locker room.
What ego? Bellinger doesn’t have a rep for that.
I think he meant Eggo. He is a notorious frozen waffle eater.
Never heard that when he was a Dodger. Have seen him laughing and talking with teammates in spring training, though.
See guys? The multiverse does exist.
I’ve always been a big fan of players with the power/speed/defense combo but seems like the Rays are selling low on Misner here. He’s not even arb eligible until ’28. He could get plenty of AB’s in KC.
sell low- but they have 4 other guys with the same profile and similar warts. I suspect they decided they would never get playing fime for all of them so deal Misner now while they can still get value.
Royals have been following Misner for a while; they drafted him out of high school (33rd round) but he went to college instead. The Marlins (who drafted him in the first round) and now the Rays (who are usually pretty good at holding on to low priced assets) have now given up on him. With over 200 PAs this season, his sub .300 OBP, .345 SLG and 72 OPS+ do not indicate a lot of promise. Yes there’s some good defense and some speed, but the Royals probably would be better off with Tyler Tolbert (a few weeks younger than Misner) as a reserve outfielder. The Royals have been shopping around for outfielders in the bargain basement for years, with no success (their rejected bid for Santander being an exception). One would hope that they’ve come to realize that if they want the production they desparately need in the OF, they’re going to have to develop it or pay for it.
they lack the funds to spend big on an OF- so they are just hoping to find a few that can have a WRC over 80 (i think last year their OF was in the low 70ies).
It is more common to find meh OF than anything else from waivers and cash deals… so this may be a move to bring him in to compete next year and pray he takes the next step or walk away.
I am all but certain that Melendez, Blanco and Waters are done in KC. Melendez is a sure non-tender.
This transaction reminds me of the Royals pick up of Joey Wiemer last year. Hopefully this one will go better.
Melendez does have one option left so he could be a non-tender or he could be a just “keep him in the minors.”
The Royals certainly will not pay the $2M+ required to keep Melendez. And I’d be shocked if they non-tendered him and then worked out a deal to bring him back on a minor league deal. That relationship is coming to an unhappy conclusion.
only hope is that they offer him a little over a million to basically be org depth in AAA to see if he can work it out… Honestly the royals are one of the best options to compete for playing time., but he may be happier with a split offer with a release date so he can shop himself a 2nd time if he does not win the job.
I suspect both parties are done with the relationship. If I were advising MJ I’d encourage him to move on and try to restart somewhere fresh. On the team’s side, the Royals gave him two more chances than he earned to claim a starting position. As a fan I have no desire to see him on the 40 man roster next year. Give the spot to someone who has earned it.
Get a guy who excels at one or two things (in this case speed and defense) and hope to develop the lacking areas.
I like this move for KC.
Doesn’t seem to make the roster any better. They are already swimming in speed and defense outfielders. Tampa does this on a regular basis. I see them and the Braves as teams that know when it’s time to cut bait.
Royals haven’t had a good Outfield since Gordon and Cain claimed two-thirds of the spots