- The Royals announced some front office changes earlier this week, with some in-house promotions and an intriguing new hire of Brian Bridges as the club’s new scouting director. Bridges has worked as a national crosschecker with the Giants for the last few seasons, and previously worked with the Braves from 2006-18 as first a scout, and then the scouting director for the last four years of his Atlanta tenure. Speaking with MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, Royals GM J.J. Picollo said Bridges “is widely regarded as one of the best evaluators in the game. His handprints are kind of all over the Braves right now, with players that are still there and players they moved to acquire other pieces to help them win.” Homegrown talent has been a key plank of the Braves’ success in recent years, whereas the Royals are seemingly taking a new approach to their development process, as their post-2016 rebuild has yet to deliver much in the way of quality at the MLB level.
Royals Rumors
AL Central Notes: Paddack, Perez, Scholtens, Guardians
After a long recovery from Tommy John surgery, Chris Paddack was activated from the Twins’ 60-day injured list today and was ready to appear in his first big league game since May 8, 2022. Technically, Paddack did “appear,” though he didn’t actually play. Paddack entered today’s game out of the bullpen prior to the start of the seventh inning, but as he was warming up on the mound, a rain delay halted the action for 50 minutes. As a result, Minnesota brought Louie Varland in to pitch once play resumed, leaving Paddack credited in the official box score with a rare appearance of zero innings pitched and zero batters faced. While it makes for a quirky bit of trivia for Paddack, the righty will probably appreciate it more once he gets a chance to properly complete his comeback with a real pitching appearance, which could happen as early as Tuesday when the AL Central champion Twins begin a series with the Athletics.
Some more from around the AL Central….
- The Royals activated Salvador Perez from the concussion-related injury list today, as the veteran catcher returned free of symptoms after the minimum seven days. Perez returns for a few more games to complete his 13th Major League season, and even after hitting a homer in today’s 6-5 Kansas City win over the Astros, it has been a tough year for the backstop. Beyond the Royals’ struggles, Perez has had a down year at the plate, hitting .252/.291/.419 with 22 homers over 555 plate appearances.
- Prior to today’s rain-shortened 3-2 victory over the Red Sox, the White Sox placed right-hander Jesse Scholtens on the 15-day injured list due to a left calf strain, and called righty Declan Cronin up from Triple-A. The injury officially ends Scholtens’ first MLB season, as he started 11 of 26 games for Chicago after debuting on April 7 and posted a 5.29 ERA, 15.4% strikeout rate and eight percent walk rate. The White Sox moved Scholtens up and down from Triple-A on a few occasions, using him primarily as a reliever before giving him a longer look as a starter over the last couple of months.
- While Terry Francona and the Guardians have stopped short of making it entirely official, all signs are pointing to Francona retiring at the end of the 2023 season. As the winningest manager in franchise history, Francona leaves a high bar for the Guards’ next skipper to reach, and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the club is planning “a wide-ranging managerial search.” The implication seems to be that the Guardians will look outside the organization for the new hire, though Hoynes pushes back against the perception that the front office is aiming to take a fuller control of in-game duties in the name of analytics. “It would be a mistake to think the next manager will be a human computer/yes man,” Hoynes writes, noting that the front office “want someone who will challenge them, someone they can learn from” as they have during Francona’s 11 seasons in Cleveland.
Brad Keller Diagnosed With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Royals right-hander Brad Keller spent most of the 2023 campaign on the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement, and though he was activated briefly early this month, he quickly found himself back on the shelf due to what the club described as “symptoms associated with thoracic outlet syndrome.” His placement back on the IL had already ended his 2023 season, but manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including Jaylon T. Thompson of the Kansas City Star) that Keller has indeed been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Quatraro added that Keller has not yet decided a course of action regarding his injury and figures to decide in the coming days about his path forward.
It’s brutal news for Keller, who is poised to depart the Royals for free agency once the 2023 season comes to a close. Keller looked to be a quality mid-rotation starter in the early seasons of his career, posting a 3.50 ERA and 3.90 FIP in 360 1/3 innings of work between 2018 and 2020. Unfortunately, he’s suffered a significant downturn in production since then, with a 5.14 ERA and 4.80 FIP across 314 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 campaign. In that time, Keller’s walk rate crept up to 11.5%, well above the 9.1% figure he posted in the first three seasons of his career. While Keller was striking out more batters as well, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the additional walks, to say nothing of a sustained spike in the percentage of his fly balls leaving the yard for home runs in recent years. After posting an HR/FB of just 8% in the first three years of his career, that number spiked to 13% the last three seasons.
With less than two months until free agency figures to open, Keller faces a significant degree of uncertainty about the future of his career after spending his entire major league career to this point with the Royals. Surgery to correct TOS has rarely seen players return to the majors and enjoy success, with Stephen Strasburg and Chris Archer among the arms who have seen their careers impacted by the procedure in recent years. One example of a player who has returned effectively is Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly, who stands as a prime example of the fact that not all types of TOS have the same long-term outlook.
Royals Outright Matt Beaty
The Royals have sent Matt Beaty outright to Triple-A Omaha, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The left-handed hitter was designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Beaty appeared in 26 games after re-signing with K.C. on a minor league pact in June. He’d also signed with the Royals in Spring Training before being traded to the Giants on Opening Day. San Francisco immediately called him up but only played him four times before waiving him. After going unclaimed, Beaty chose free agency and circled back to Kansas City.
In 67 trips to the plate, Beaty hit .232/.358/.304. He walked six times with 12 strikeouts but only had four extra-base hits, all of which were doubles. Beaty is best suited for first base or a corner outfield position, putting extra pressure on his bat.
The former 12th-round draftee posted above-average offensive numbers in a part-time role with the Dodgers from 2019-21. He hit .262/.333/.425 in 240 contests. Los Angeles nevertheless DFA him before the start of the 2022 campaign. Beaty hasn’t hit well in scattered looks over the two seasons since then. He’s a .173/.271/.240 hitter in 119 big league plate appearances since the Dodgers dealt him.
Beaty has the right to again test free agency. He’d be a minor league free agent at the beginning of the offseason anyhow unless the Royals add him back to the roster.
White Sox Expected To Hire Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister, Gene Watson To Front Office Roles
Diamondbacks director of player development Josh Barfield is expected to leave the D’Backs for a new job in the White Sox front office, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and Steve Gilbert (X link). Barfield will step into the role of assistant general manager, under newly-hired Sox GM Chris Getz.
Barfield isn’t the only newcomer to Getz’s staff, as USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via X) reports that the White Sox have also hired Brian Bannister for a role in pitching development and Gene Watson for a player development job. Bannister has worked as the Giants’ director of pitching since December 2019, while Watson was an assistant GM and VP of Major League scouting with the Royals.
Fans may know the 40-year-old Barfield best from his playing career, as he appeared in 309 Major League games with San Diego and Cleveland from 2006-09. He continued playing in the minors and in independent ball until 2013, and then started his post-playing career as a scout with the D’Backs in 2016, moving his way up the front office depth chart until assuming his current role during the 2019-20 offseason.
Bannister is another former player, tossing 667 1/3 innings with the Mets and Royals from 2006-10. (Notably, Getz and Bannister were teammates in Kansas City in 2010.) Since retiring, the 42-year-old Bannister worked from the Red Sox from 2015-19 in a variety of roles, ranging from scout, to assistant pitching coach, to a more analytical front office position as a director of pitching analysis and development. This led to a similar position in San Francisco, as Bannister worked in a uniformed on-field role except in 2022, when league rules didn’t permit Bannister to participate in his coaching role because he wasn’t vaccinated.
Watson also has some past Kansas City ties to Getz and Bannister, as Watson has worked for the Royals for all but one season from 2006-23, as Watson worked for the Angels in 2021. A longtime scout and evaluator, Watson has also worked with the Padres, Braves, and Marlins during a career that began back in 1997. Watson has been interviewed for GM jobs in the past, including the Angels’ opening in 2021 that eventually went to Perry Minasian, though the Halos were impressed enough to still hire Watson away from K.C. for an advisory position.
The three hires bring some fresh voices into the White Sox front office, giving Getz (who has been working for Chicago since 2016) some different perspective as he embarks on his first stint running a baseball operations department. Getz’s promotion continued the criticism that the Sox organization is too insular in its thinking, but today’s hires act as something of a counter to the idea that the White Sox are set in their ways. Barfield and Bannister, like Getz, are younger executives with past playing experience who perhaps have a bit more of a modern analytical approach to player development, whereas Watson brings some old-school scouting knowledge into the fold.
Royals Announce Five Roster Moves
The Royals announced several roster moves today, including the news that Brady Singer and Brad Keller have both been placed on the 15-day injured list, ending their seasons. Kansas City recalled right-hander Jonathan Bowlan from Triple-A and selected the contract of left-hander Anthony Veneziano from Triple-A as well. To create 40-man roster space for Veneziano, Matt Beaty was designated for assignment.
Keller already spent a big chunk of the season on the 60-day IL due to a right shoulder impingement, and his placement today was due to a “return of symptoms associated with thoracic outlet syndrome,” according to the Royals’ official announcement. That is unwelcome news for the veteran righty, and it implies that a TOS surgery might be required to correct the problem. The Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly is one of the rare examples of a pitcher returning from a TOS procedure and still pitching well in the aftermath, though if Keller does need a surgery, his chances of a recovery and a return to form might hinge on the specific nature of his TOS issue.
In the bigger picture, undergoing a major surgery will also certainly hamper Keller’s chances of landing a new contract in free agency this winter. With a 5.17 ERA over 318 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021, Keller was already likely looking at a non-guaranteed deal on the open market, but he might now face a longer wait before landing any kind of contract if he does indeed have to get a TOS procedure.
Singer has a strain in his left lower lumbar area, and the injury will put a coda on an overall disappointing year for the 27-year-old. After seemingly breaking out in 2022, Singer appeared to be the front-of-the-rotation type of pitcher the Royals were desperately hoping to find from their group of highly-touted (but to date underwhelming) crop of top pitching prospects. Unfortunately, Singer took a step backwards in 2023, with a 5.52 ERA over 159 2/3 innings and some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any hurler in baseball. The right-hander’s strikeout rate was also well below average, sharply declining from 24.2% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023.
One of the many questions the Royals face heading into 2024 is discovering what exactly they have in Singer, and whether or not he can be an effective and consistent starting pitcher. He did have a few stretches of quality starts amidst his broader struggles in 2023, but that is small consolation for a Kansas City team in dire need of rotation help.
Veneziano has been in the Royals organization since he was selected in the 10th round of the 2019 draft. After a strong start to the season at Double-A, he earned a promotion to Triple-A Omaha in mid-May. He has pitched to a 4.22 ERA over 89 2/3 innings with below-average strikeout (20.6%) and walk (11.2%) rates, but it has been enough to earn the 26-year-old his first taste of Major League action.
Baseball America ranks Veneziano as the fourth-best prospect in the Kansas City farm system, while Bowlan is 18th on their list. MLB Pipeline has Veneziano 16th and Bowlan out of their top 30 altogether, quite possibly owing to the injuries that have plagued Bowlan since he was a second-round pick in the 2018 draft. He underwent a Tommy John surgery in 2021, and has dealt with some shoulder issues this year.
The results haven’t been there for Bowlan since returning from his TJ rehab, as he posted a 5.92 ERA over 62 1/3 combined innings (at rookie ball, high-A ball, and Double-A) in 2022, and he has a 5.91 ERA over 102 frames of Double-A and Triple-A work this season. His first appearance with the Royals will also mark the MLB debut for the right-hander.
Since the Royals have off-days on both Thursday and Monday, it remains to be seen how they’ll line up their rotation over the final two weeks of the season. However, it stands to reason that both Bowlan and Veneziano will get at least one start as K.C. looks to patch these holes in their rotation and takes a look at two farm system arms that could factor into the club’s 2024 plans.
This is the second time that Beaty has been designated for assignment this season, as the Giants DFA’ed him at the end of May. Beaty opted for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, and he landed in Kansas City on a minors deal in June. This was technically his second stint with the Royals, as Beaty also signed a minor league contract with K.C. during the offseason but was then traded to San Francisco just prior to Opening Day.
Beaty has appeared in 26 big league games with the Royals, hitting .232/.358/.304 over 67 plate appearances. That gives him only a .518 OPS over 119 PA since the start of the 2022 season, though Beaty was hampered by a shoulder injury for much of last year when he was a member of the Padres. It seems likely that Beaty will clear waivers and again face an opt-out decision, and he could opt for free agency just to get a head start on the offseason rather than stick it out for the last few games of the Triple-A season.
Royals Select Tyler Cropley
11:30am: Quatraro tells Anne Rogers of MLB.com that further testing revealed Perez does indeed have a mild concussion.
10:25am: The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Tyler Cropley. He will take the active roster spot of Salvador Perez, who has been placed on the seven-day concussion list, retroactive to September 17. To open a spot on the 40-man, catcher Freddy Fermin was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Perez departed Saturday’s game after being struck in the mask by a foul ball. The Royals later announced that he had avoided a concussion, with manager Matt Quatraro saying that the backstop “got his bell rung a little bit” but felt fine after the game. It now seems that either the situation has changed or the club is merely deciding to be cautious in the late stages of a lost season.
The club will now be without its two primary catchers from this season, at least for a few games, as Fermin suffered a fracture of his right middle finger earlier this month. He underwent surgery last week and is done for the season, making his transfer to the 60-day injured list an expected formality.
With Perez and Fermin both unavailable, Cropley will get back to the majors. He was briefly selected to the club’s roster earlier this month when Fermin suffered his injury but he was designated for assignment a few days later, without getting into a game, when Logan Porter was promoted. He cleared waivers and was outrighted, allowing him to rejoin the roster today. At least for the time being, it seems as though Porter and Cropley will be sharing the catching duties.
Aside from that brief time on the big league roster, Cropley has split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year. He has walked in 11.5% of his plate appearances and hit a combined .233/.329/.367 for a wRC+ of 87. He’ll make his major league debut as soon as he is put into a game.
Latest On Salvador Perez
- Royals catcher Salvador Perez exited yesterday’s game against the Astros after a foul ball off the bat of Jose Altuve struck his mask in the fifth inning. Perez began to feel lightheaded before exiting the game to undergo the concussion protocol, though the Royals later announced that Perez had avoided a concussion. Per MLB.com, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters that Perez “got his bell rung a little bit” but that Perez was feeling fine by the end of the game. It’s possible, then, that Perez returns to the lineup as soon as this afternoon. Perez has slashed .252/.291/.415 with a wRC+ of 84 in 551 trips to the plate this year while splitting time between catcher, first base, and DH.
Royals Outright Tyler Cropley
Sept. 13: Cropley passed through waivers unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha, the Royals announced Wednesday. He’ll remain in the organization, as he does not have the prior outright or three years of MLB service needed to reject an assignment.
Sept. 11: The Royals announced that catcher Tyler Cropley has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to Logan Porter, whose upcoming promotion was reported yesterday.
The club has Salvador Perez as its main backstop but was also giving plenty of playing time to Freddy Fermin this year, with Perez spending some time at first base of late. Unfortunately, Fermin suffered a fracture in his right middle finger, forcing the Royals to find another backup. MJ Melendez came up as a catcher but doesn’t seem to be considered a realistic option there. Back in May, manager Matt Quatraro said they were going to keep him in the outfield in order to let him focus on his hitting and he hasn’t been behind the plate since.
Cropley had his contract selected on the weekend but has now been quickly designated for assignment without getting into a game, replaced by Porter. Prior to being selected Cropley was in Double-A while Porter was in Triple-A. On the surface, it’s a strange move to have added Cropley before Porter and then pivot two days later, but it’s possible it’s related to the schedule. The Royals were in Toronto this weekend and it has been speculated that Cropley had his passport ready to go while Porter did not. That’s not confirmed but it would make sense of why Cropley was selected and then quickly removed from the roster once the club crossed back over the Canadian border.
Whatever the reasons, Cropley got a very brief taste of major league life, albeit as a passive observer. Since the trade deadline has now passed, he will be placed on waivers in the coming days. In 43 Double-A games this year, he’s hit .234/.329/.359 for a wRC+ of 86.
Royals’ Austin Cox, Freddy Fermin Require Surgeries
Royals left-hander Austin Cox has been diagnosed with a full ACL tear and partial MCL injury in his left knee, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. While he’s going for a second opinion, the expectation is that he’ll require surgery.
Cox was injured last week in Toronto. Scrambling to cover first base on a grounder that had deflected to the right side of the infield, he twisted his knee when he lunged to try to find the base. The Royals immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list. While the club initially termed the injury as a knee sprain, the ACL tear is a more unfortunate diagnosis.
It’ll surely keep him out well into next season, potentially costing him more than half the year. The Royals could keep Cox on the 60-day IL during the season, but they’d have to carry him on the 40-man roster throughout the winter. It doesn’t seem out of the question they’ll non-tender the former fifth-round draftee to clear an offseason roster spot.
A Mercer product, Cox logged 35 2/3 big league innings as a rookie. He posted a 4.54 ERA, striking out a respectable 22.1% of batters faced but walking opponents at a lofty 11.4% clip. He had similar strikeout and walk marks in 47 1/3 innings at Triple-A Omaha, where he worked to a 3.61 ERA.
In other Royals news, backup catcher Freddy Fermin underwent surgery to address a fractured right middle finger, according to Rogers. He’s done for the season but is expected to be ready for Spring Training. Fermin solidified his spot on the roster with a solid showing in a part-time role. The 28-year-old backstop hit .281/.321/.461 across 235 plate appearances. He should go into 2024 with a hold on the #2 catching job behind Salvador Perez as a result.
