Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals Rumors

Royals Select Dan Altavilla

By | at

The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Dan Altavilla. The club already had a 40-man vacancy. Right-hander Will Klein was optioned to open an active roster spot.

Altavilla, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason. He has since made 24 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, allowing 2.63 earned runs per nine innings. That’s at least partially luck, as he has been giving out walks at a 12.8% clip and can’t continue stranding 91.8% of baserunners forever. But his 27.5% strikeout rate with the Storm Chasers was quite strong and he’s also been getting grounders on 44.6% of balls in play.

That performance will get Altavilla back to the big leagues for the first time since 2021. He made 119 appearances in the majors from 2016 to 2021 with a 4.03 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 38.8% ground ball rate. But he underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2021 and hasn’t made it back to the majors until now.

He signed a two-year minor league deal with the Red Sox and didn’t pitch in any official capacity in 2022. He returned to the mound last year but struggled to get back in form right away. He tossed 12 innings on the farm last year with an ERA of 3.00, but he was helped by a tiny .194 batting average on balls in play as he only struck out 14.3% of opponents while giving out walks at a 10.2% clip.

The Sox released him in August but his new deal with the Royals seems to have allowed him to get back on track. It was reported last week that the Royals are looking for bullpen help, with some more swing-and-miss a specific target area. Altavilla could perhaps give the club an internal source of that upgrade they are looking for, based on his strikeout numbers this year and earlier in his career.

If Altavilla clicks, perhaps that will alter the club’s approach prior to the July 30 trade deadline. If it doesn’t work out, he’s likely to end up designated for assignment since he is out of options. But if he manages to hang onto his roster spot through the end of the schedule, he can be retained for next year via arbitration since he has less than five years of major league service time.

Royals Sign Kevin Padlo To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Royals signed Kevin Padlo to a minor league contract. The deal was announced by Kansas City’s Double-A team in Northwest Arkansas, where the infielder will report in his new organization.

It’s a bit of a step down for Padlo, who had been in Triple-A after signing an offseason minor league deal with the Dodgers. Los Angeles released him last week following a middling .216/.340/.380 start to the season. The 27-year-old has had better Triple-A numbers in prior years. He went into 2024 with a career .251/.348/.461 line at the level.

Padlo has played in the majors for five different teams over parts of three seasons. His high in games played for any individual team is nine; he has appeared in 26 contests overall. He’s a .111/.158/.167 hitter in an exceedingly small sample of 57 MLB plate appearances. Padlo has shown a patient approach and decent raw power in the minors, though that’s always come with a fair number of strikeouts. He has fanned in 26.6% of his more than 1500 Triple-A plate appearances.

Royals Exploring Bullpen Market

By | at

The Royals have been perhaps the most surprising contender of 2024. Kansas City’s 36-26 record is fourth-best in the American League. They’re five games behind the Guardians in a suddenly competitive AL Central and occupy the second Wild Card spot.

One year removed from a 106-loss season, K.C. should find themselves in position to add MLB help at the deadline. ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote this morning that the Royals are already exploring the trade market for potential bullpen upgrades. General manager J.J. Picollo suggested similarly in an appearance on the New York Post’s The Show podcast with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. The second-year baseball operations leader indicated that adding swing-and-miss to the late innings would be ideal.

“In the back end of our bullpen, we’re not striking a lot of guys out, so that’s an area that we have to look at for sure,” Picollo said. The GM also pointed to the outfield as “an area we (may) have to address” if they don’t get improved production in the coming weeks.

Relief pitching and the outfield have been Kansas City’s biggest weaknesses. While the Royals’ rotation has arguably been among the three best in MLB, the bullpen entered play tonight ranked 25th with a 4.44 ERA. As Picollo observed, they’ve been particularly lacking in terms of strikeout stuff. Kansas City relievers are last in both strikeout rate (17.4%) and swinging strike percentage (8.5%). The only Royal reliever who has thrown at least five innings with an above-average strikeout rate, Tyler Duffey, was outrighted off the 40-man roster last week.

Kansas City made some modest upgrades to the bullpen over the winter. They inked Chris Stratton and Will Smith to lower-cost free agent deals and acquired John Schreiber and Nick Anderson in trade. Schreiber is the only member of that group who has pitched well thus far. He owns a 2.88 ERA while keeping half his batted balls on the ground over 25 innings. Stratton, Smith and Anderson have all allowed more than five earned runs per nine.

A’s star closer Mason Miller would be the prize of the reliever market, but the asking price will be astronomical. Marlins left-hander Tanner Scott, an impending free agent with a power arm and closing experience, is almost certain to be dealt. The White Sox are likely to trade former starter Michael Kopech, who is missing bats but showing worrisome control in relief. Oakland could dangle journeyman setup man Austin Adams for a much lesser return than they’d demand for Miller. The Mets will probably shop Adam Ottavino, former Royal Jake Diekman, and potentially waiver claim turned temporary closer Reed Garrett. Washington could move Hunter Harvey.

Those are just a handful of the many names who could be available. Virtually every playoff hopeful will at least poke around the relief market at the deadline, but the Royals seem to have a more acute need for bullpen help than most.

The outfield, meanwhile, carried a collective .204/.271/.324 batting line into tonight’s game. They’re last in average and on-base percentage and above only the White Sox in slugging output. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored in a post for Front Office subscribers last month, the Royals have had a staggeringly poor outfield since the departures of Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. It has been more of the same this season, with none of Hunter Renfroe, MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel nor designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Velázquez hitting well.

Picollo expressed some confidence in the in-house outfielders to turn things around, noting that they’ve had a few players “clearly underperforming” based on their previous track records. Neither Melendez nor Isbel have ever hit much at the major league level, though. Renfroe has been a productive player in the past, but he’s following up a mediocre .233/.297/.416 season with a career-worst .179/.256/.327 line over his first 51 games.

There’s probably the most optimism with regards to Velázquez, who drilled 14 homers in 40 games after being acquired from the Cubs at the 2023 deadline. Yet the Royals have used him more often at DH than in the outfield, and his subpar strikeout and walk profile was a cause for concern even amidst last year’s home run barrage.

Even with some clear areas of need, it’s an encouraging time for the Royals and their fanbase. Kansas City has a realistic path to their first postseason berth since their 2015 championship. While they’ll need to continue playing well over the next six-to-eight weeks, Picollo told Heyman and Sherman the front office is prepared to “be aggressive” if they remain in contention as the deadline gets nearer.

Royals Place Michael Wacha On 15-Day Injured List

By | at

The Royals placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list earlier today due to what manager Matt Quatraro described to reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) as a “small, non-displaced” fracture in his left foot. Kansas City recalled left-hander Daniel Lynch IV to take Wacha’s place both on the active roster and in the starting rotation. A timetable for Wacha’s return to action was not immediately available, as Quatraro indicated that it will primarily depend on when the soreness if Wacha’s foot subsides. Fortunately, Wacha will be able to stay somewhat active while he nurses his ailing foot, as Rogers adds that Wacha will play catch on his knee in order to keep his arm warmed up.

It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the Royals, as the 32-year-old veteran has mostly looked good since signing with the club on a two-year, $32MM deal with the club back in December. While Wacha’s 4.24 ERA through 12 starts is actually slightly below the league average (97 ERA+), he’s posted solid peripheral numbers and been plagued by a below average strand rate of just 68.7%. While Wacha’s 19.8% strikeout rate is slightly down from his solid season with the Padres last year, he’s walked just 7.1% of batters faced while limiting hard contact very effectively. Opposing hitters have barreled up just 4.8% of their batted balls against Wacha, and his 24.9% hard contact rate is by far the lowest of his career. All that has left Wacha with not only a solid 3.62 FIP but also a 3.54 xERA.

Fortunately for the Royals, they’ve received more than strong enough production from the rest of their rotation to manage without Wacha while he’s unavailable. The club’s starters have collectively posted a 3.13 ERA entering play today, good for third in the majors behind only the Yankees and Phillies. Veteran right-hander Seth Lugo has been a revelation for the club at the front of the rotation in his first year with the club, with an incredible 1.72 ERA and a 3.22 FIP in 78 1/3 innings of work. Meanwhile, lefty Cole Ragans has continued to build on his strong debut with the Royals last year in 2024 as the club’s #2 starter while right-hander Brady Singer has rebounded to the form he flashed in 2022 as the staff ace. Rounding out the club’s rotation mix is Alec Marsh, who has posted solid mid-to-back of the rotation results on par with those of Wacha.

Joining that quartet in Wacha’s place is Lynch, who the club selected 34th overall in the 2018 draft. Lynch was once a consensus top-30 prospect in the entire sport but has generally struggled in parts of three seasons at the big league level, with a career 5.18 ERA and 4.79 FIP in 51 starts entering this year. He’s made just three appearances at the big league level for the Royals this season, posting a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work. Those strong results have come in spite of shaky peripherals; he’s struck out just 17.4% of batters faced in the majors this year while benefiting from a microscopic .152 BABIP. Nonetheless, he’ll attempt to keep that production going in the fifth starter spot for a Royals club that has enjoyed a surprisingly excellent season to this point as they’ve gone 35-25 to place themselves firmly in the second of three AL Wild Card spots, five games back of the Guardians for the AL Central lead.

Royals Outright Tyler Duffey

By | at

The Royals have sent right-hander Tyler Duffey outright to Triple-A Omaha, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. The righty has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, as a player with more than five years of major league service time, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Duffey, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason. He was only able to log two innings of official Spring Training action, telling reporters in March that he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mole from his left shoulder. He added that post-surgery testing came back negative but that he would have to undergo further check-ups in the months to come.

He reported to Omaha for some work at Triple-A to start the season. He had a 3.24 earned run average in 8 1/3 innings there, striking out ten opponents but also issuing five walks and throwing a wild pitch. He was selected to the big league club on April 22 and spent roughly a month with the Royals, getting put into nine games and logging nine innings, allowing five earned runs. He struck out ten opponents but also gave out eight walks and hit a batter.

That’s a small sample but the lack of control nonetheless got Duffey nudged off the roster last week and the other 29 clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers. His next move is likely to get some work at Triple-A. That could come with Omaha if he accepts his assignment or perhaps another club if he heads to the open market and signs elsewhere.

It’s obviously been a challenging year for Duffey with the health scare and also the shaky control so far on the season, but he has been a solid major league reliever in the past. He had a strong three-year run with the Twins from 2019 to 2021, throwing 144 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate.

Phillies Acquire Jonah Dipoto From Royals

By | at

The Royals announced this morning that they’ve traded minor league pitcher Jonah Dipoto to the Phillies for cash considerations. According to the MLB.com transaction log, Philadelphia assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The son of former MLB pitcher and current Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, Jonah is a 27-year-old righty reliever. Kansas City selected him out of UC San Diego in the 35th round of the 2019 draft. Despite the modest draft stock, Dipoto has pitched his way to the upper minors. He turned in a 3.55 earned run average in 50 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A a year ago. Dipoto fanned an above-average 26% of opponents, though he also walked almost 15% of batters faced.

Dipoto has had a shakier start to the 2024 campaign. He has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) over 14 1/3 innings for the Royals’ top farm team in Omaha. He has given up a trio of homers with a 13:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Phils will hope that a change of scenery at least allows him to find the bat-missing promise he showed a season ago. While Dipoto has never gotten much prospect fanfare, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs credited him with a plus slider and ranked him 38th in the K.C. system last summer.

There’s no cost for Philadelphia beyond what is likely nominal cash considerations. Dipoto won’t require a spot on their 40-man because he hadn’t been on the Kansas City roster. He went unselected in last winter’s Rule 5 draft and would be eligible again next December if Philadelphia doesn’t select his contract.

Royals Place Michael Massey On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Royals placed second baseman Michael Massey on the 10-day injured list today (retroactive to May 25) due to a ligament sprain in his lower back.  Infielder Nick Loftin was called up from Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding move.

This is the second time Massey’s bad back has sent him to the IL, as his season debut was delayed until April 19 because of a similar injury that cropped up during Spring Training.  Massey made an early exit from Friday’s 8-1 victory over the Rays due to back soreness and he didn’t play yesterday, so K.C. manager Matt Quatraro felt a roster move was necessary.

“We are at a point where he wasn’t feeling great today.  It’s been a couple of days and we have another day game tomorrow,” Quatraro told the Kansas City Star’s Jaylon Thompson and other reporters.  “We got to make a move to kind of put him on a course to get better and is more sustainable than going day to day.”

It would seem like Massey will miss longer than the minimum 10 days in order to fully rest up and try to put the back problem behind him, and he might also seek out a specialist to see if any longer-term solution is necessary.  Loftin and Adam Frazier handled second base duty during Massey’s previous IL stint, and that figures to be the case again, even if it will be hard for the duo to match Massey’s underrated all-around production.

One of the unsung stars of the Royals’ unexpected surge into contention, Massey has hit .294/.306/.529 with six home runs over 110 plate appearances.  Between this 124 wRC+ and solidly above-average glovework at second base, Massey has generated 0.8 fWAR in his 29 games this season, already topping his 0.7 fWAR over 181 games in 2022-23.  While his modest hard-hit ball rates and .309 xwOBA indicate that some regression is inevitable, Massey has drastically reduced his strikeout rate from his first two MLB seasons, and is hitting for much more power.

Royals Return Rule 5 Pick Matt Sauer To Yankees

By | at

The Yankees announced this afternoon that right-hander Matt Sauer had been returned to the organization by the Royals. The 25-year-old was selected by Kansas City with the second-overall pick in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft but was designated for assignment earlier this week. Evidently, Sauer cleared waivers, meaning the Royals had to offer Sauer back to New York for $50K. The Yankees pulled the trigger on that offer and have assigned him to Triple-A.

Sauer was New York’s second-round pick in the 2017 draft and had spent his career prior to the 2024 season climbing the minor league ladder before ultimately topping out at the Double-A level. The righty was impressive in 14 appearances (13 starts) at the level last year as he pitched to a 3.42 ERA with a 29.5% strikeout rate in 68 1/3 innings of work. That performance was clearly enough for the Royals to take a shot on Sauer, and he impressed in 10 2/3 innings of work during Spring Training with a 2.53 ERA and 13 strikeouts.

That spring performance was enough for the Royals to offer Sauer a spot on their Opening Day roster, and he responded by delivering solid results throughout the month of April with a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work. That being said, Sauer’s peripherals left something to be desired as evidenced by his 17% walk rate and 9.4% strikeout rate during that time. Unfortunately, Sauer’s results began to catch up to his peripherals in May as he was lit up to the tune of a 19.80 ERA in five appearances throughout the month, prompting the club’s decision to designate him for assignment.

Were the Royals still the rebuilding club many expected them to be entering the 2024 campaign, it’s possible they would have retained Sauer on the roster for longer in hopes he could right the ship. Unfortunately for the righty, Kansas City has played like anything but a rebuilding club this year with a fantastic 34-19 record that puts them in control of the top AL Wild Card spot and just 1.5 games back of the Guardians for first place in a surprisingly competitive AL Central division. Given the Royals arrival as contenders, the club evidently decided they could not afford to hide Sauer in its final bullpen spot.

That’s great news for the Yankees, who were able to re-acquire Sauer when he went unclaimed on waivers. Now back in the minors with his original club, Sauer figures to continue his development at the Triple-A level and await his next big league opportunity while serving as non-roster depth for New York alongside non-roster veterans such as Phil Bickford and Duane Underwood Jr.

Royals Designate Tyler Duffey For Assignment

By | at

The Royals announced today that right-hander Carlos Hernández has been reinstated from the injured list. To open a spot for him on the roster, right-hander Tyler Duffey has been designated for assignment. Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase reported on X prior to the official announcement that Hernández was coming off the IL.

Duffey, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the winter. He revealed in March that he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mole from his left shoulder. He noted at that time that post-surgery checks came back negative but that he would continue to get check-ups during the coming months.

The Royals added him to their big league roster just over a month ago. He has since made nine appearances, throwing nine innings, with five earned runs allowed. His 23.8% strikeout rate in that time is around league average but his 19% walk rate is very high and he also hit one batter. Though his 5.00 ERA isn’t disastrous, it’s possible that it’s been kept low by the fact that he hasn’t yet allowed a home run this year. Given the free passes he’s been giving out, it’s possible the Royals didn’t want to wait around and see his luck run out.

They will now have a week to trade Duffey or pass him through waivers. He had a solid run for the Twins a few years back but has struggled more recently. From 2019 to 2021, he threw 144 innings for Minnesota with a 2.69 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 44.4% ground ball rate. But his ERA jumped to 4.91 in 2022 and he spent most of last year in Triple-A for the Cubs. He struck out 29.1% of batters faced for Iowa but also gave out walks 12.6% of the time.

If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would be able to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining what remains of his salary, as a player with more than five years of major league service time.

Royals Release Zach Davies

By | at

The Royals have released veteran right-hander Zach Davies from his minor league contract, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’s pitched decently with Triple-A Omaha while the major league rotation has been a strength in Kansas City, so it’s possible Davies had a mid-May out clause in his minor league pact.

Davies, 31, signed with Kansas City back on April 8. He’d spent spring training with the Nationals but allowed 14 earned runs in 14 innings over four starts and was cut loose. To some extent, he’s turned things around in Omaha, logging 21 innings (five starts) with a 4.29 ERA. A 12.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate combine to create skepticism about Davies’ work with the Royals’ top affiliate. He’s never been one to miss many bats, but those rates are subpar even by his own modest standards.

In 1048 1/3 big league innings, Davies carries a 4.36 ERA (4.48 FIP, 4.80 SIERA). He had a particularly strong run with the Brewers and Padres from 2015-20, posting a 3.79 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 683 2/3 innings. Things have gone awry since then.

While Davies pitched more or less in line with his career norms in a 2022 season with the D-backs, that solid campaign was bookended by disastrous showings: a 5.78 ERA in 32 starts for the Cubs in ’21 as well as a 7.00 ERA in 18 starts with the ’23 D-backs. Overall, Davies’ last three seasons have resulted in a combined 5.43 ERA. An apparent dip in his command has been the main culprit; Davies had a 6.9% walk rate from ’15-’20 but has seen that number spike to 10.3% since. He’s also become far more homer-prone, suggesting some imprecision even within the strike zone.

At the moment, Royals starters rank fourth in the majors with a 3.09 ERA and trail only the Phillies for the MLB lead in innings pitched. The quintet of Cole Ragans, Brady Singer, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Alec Marsh has provided Kansas City with the sort of starting pitching stability the club has lacked for years. Those five have started all but two of the team’s games this season. Daniel Lynch IV and Jonathan Bowlan each got one start while Marsh was on the 15-day IL with an elbow contusion he sustained when hit by a comebacker. He’s since returned from that brief IL stay.

With that strong output from the big league staff, there was no obvious path to the big leagues for Davies in Kansas City. However, with so many pitching injuries popping up around the sport, he’ll likely draw interest from other clubs seeking to deepen their rotation group. The Red Sox, Rays, Rockies, Marlins and Davies’ former Brewers club all have multiple starters of note on the injured list, for instance.

AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
Show all

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

hide arrows scroll to top