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Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

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The Royals began the offseason with a three-year signing to keep their excellent rotation intact. They traded from that starting staff a month later to acquire a new leadoff hitter. Kansas City hoped to follow up with an impact offensive acquisition that never materialized. They instead turned to the relief market late in the winter to add a veteran closer.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $35MM
Total spending: $80MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Extensions

  • Signed LHP Cole Ragans to three-year, $13.25MM deal to cover final pre-arb year and first two arbitration seasons

Notable Minor League Signings

Notable Losses

The Royals were perhaps the most surprising playoff team of 2024. Kansas City had a 30-win improvement relative to the preceding season. They held the Orioles to one run in two games to sweep their Wild Card series. The Yankees knocked K.C. off in the Division Series, but the Royals' window has reopened after a nine-year postseason drought.

They remain one of the more top-heavy contenders. Kansas City's success was built around an elite rotation and an MVP-caliber season from Bobby Witt Jr. They preserved a crucial piece of that rotation just before free agency opened. Kansas City signed Michael Wacha to a three-year, $51MM extension to keep him from opting out and testing free agency. The veteran righty rejoins Seth Lugo as the 2-3 arms behind breakout left-hander Cole Ragans.

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Bobby Witt Jr. Suffers Forearm Contusion, Avoids Any Fractures After HBP

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The Royals appear to have avoided the worst on Bobby Witt Jr. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the superstar shortstop avoided any fractures after being hit by a pitch in the left forearm/wrist area this afternoon. Kansas City subsequently announced that Witt sustained a forearm contusion and said he’d be reevaluated tomorrow.

Manager Matt Quatraro said immediately after the game that Witt was headed for x-rays (relayed by Anne Rogers of MLB.com). Last year’s AL MVP runner-up left the game after he was struck by a 96 MPH sinker from Andrés Muñoz. Quatraro said Witt initially lost the feeling in his fingers, though the manager added that “it was coming back” postgame. He framed the x-ray as more of a precautionary measure.

The team can breathe a sigh of relief after that initial testing. Lingering soreness could raise the possibility of a season-opening injured list stint, but he’s unlikely to face an extended absence. Maikel Garcia would likely step in at shortstop if Witt misses any time. That’d temporarily leave second and third base to the combination of Michael Massey and Jonathan India.

Witt is coming off one of the best seasons in franchise history. He won the batting title while hitting .332/.389/.588. Witt led the majors with 211 hits, including 45 doubles and 32 home runs. He stole 31 bases while earning Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors. Witt started 160 games at shortstop and logged nearly 1400 innings. Garcia, who played 22 1/3 innings at the position, picked up the other two starts.

AL Notes: Meadows, Pérez, Mateo, Estévez

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The Tigers are facing a few injuries in their outfield mix, with each of Matt Vierling, Parker Meadows and Wenceel Pérez battling health issues. Vierling has already been ruled out for Opening Day due to a rotator cuff strain and Meadows might not make it for the opener either.

Meadows has been experiencing a nerve issue in his upper right arm. He tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that the issue is with the musculocutaneous nerve specifically, which isn’t progressing much. Meadows still hasn’t been cleared to throw, which obviously means he can’t play, though he has been doing some other activities that don’t involve throwing.

“He’s not full go,” manager A.J. Hinch said today. “He’s just making incremental steps, whatever that means. And he’s not ready for games. He’s not close to games right now, but that can change as soon as soon as we shake this nerve up, wake it up. Things are better than they were, but still not full go.” Meadows still thinks he can be ready by Opening Day but that will obviously be dependent on things improving in the next week or two.

Pérez has some back tightness and was supposed to return to the lineup today but that has not come to pass and he might be held out of tomorrow’s game as well. With Vierling and Meadows hurt, Pérez would have been a logical candidate to jump into the outfield but his back issues make that a bit iffy. Hinch downplayed the concern, saying that the club is just being “uber cautious”, but it’s yet another question mark for the club.

Riley Greene will be in one outfield spot and could perhaps be joined by Meadows and/or Pérez. If not, Kerry Carpenter could take some time out there, letting Spencer Torkelson get some time as the designated hitter. Justyn-Henry Malloy is also on the 40-man and the Tigers also have utility players Andy Ibáñez and Zach McKinstry as potential contributors.

Some other notes from around the American League…

  • Orioles utility player Jorge Mateo is recovering from last year’s elbow surgery. A month ago, general manager Mike Elias stated that Mateo was unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, but the player himself is now feeling a bit more optimistic. “I think we’re going to make it,” he said this week to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. That could be a key development for the O’s since shortstop Gunnar Henderson is battling an intercostal strain and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready for Opening Day himself. Even if Henderson is good to go, having Mateo on the roster next to him would give the club a bit more cover at the position.
  • Royals right-hander Carlos Estévez signed a two-year, $22MM deal with the Royals about six weeks ago but still hasn’t made his spring training debut with his new club. The reliever has been battling some back tightness which has put him a bit behind schedule. Manager Matt Quatraro today provided a positive update to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, saying that Estévez threw live batting practice yesterday, which went “really well.” That puts him in line to make his Cactus League debut on Friday. With about two weeks until Opening Day, Estévez should be able to avoid the injured list if he doesn’t hit any setbacks between now and then.

Mets, Royals Discussed Starling Marte Earlier This Offseason

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The Royals showed interest in Starling Marte earlier in the offseason, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Those talks obviously didn’t produce a deal, but Sherman adds that Kansas City hasn’t completely closed the door on the possibility. There’s no indication talks are active, but it’s nevertheless notable that the Royals are still interested to an extent. It shows that Kansas City is still weighing options to bring in an outfield bat and that they perhaps have some financial flexibility even with a player payroll that’s nearly $20MM north of last year’s spending levels.

Of course, the Royals wouldn’t be taking on the entirety of Marte’s salary in a trade. The 36-year-old is entering the final season of a four-year, $78MM contract and is owed $19.5MM in 2025. Coming off a pedestrian .269/.327/.388 batting line (104 wRC+), Marte is no longer productive enough for another team to have interest in taking on the full freight of his salary. The Mets have reportedly been willing to pay down a portion of that $19.5MM.

Health is another factor to consider. Marte missed the final seven weeks of the 2023 season with a groin strain and was out for nearly two months last summer due to a bone bruise in his right knee. He’s been hobbled by ongoing discomfort in that same knee this spring and has yet to appear in a game. Manager Carlos Mendoza did suggest yesterday that Marte could get into a game within the next few days (link via Newsday’s Tim Healey), but presumably any team looking into the possibility of acquiring him would want to see the veteran outfielder get into a few games to demonstrate that he’s healthy enough to be considered likely for Opening Day.

The Royals’ interest in Marte makes some sense on paper. They’ve been looking for an outfield bat for much of the offseason and have come up empty. The Royals have looked into various trade targets and reportedly made offers to free agents Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar, who instead signed with the Blue Jays and Braves, respectively. Last year’s primary outfield of MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel and Hunter Renfroe was among the least-productive outfield groups in all of MLB. The Royals plan to give trade acquisition Jonathan India and infielder Michael Massey some work in left field this season, but the broad outfield outlook remains bleak if they can’t get a long-awaited Melendez breakout and/or a return to form for the veteran Renfroe.

When the two sides talked earlier in the offseason, per Sherman, the Mets expressed interest in Royals relievers Hunter Harvey and Angel Zerpa. Kansas City understandably didn’t have interest in moving a quality reliever to buy low on an expensive veteran in his mid-30s.

Unless the Mets are willing to take on the second season of a two-year deal for Chris Stratton, who hasn’t panned out as hoped in K.C., it’s hard to envision them prying a member of the Royals’ bullpen away in a Marte swap. Harvey was excellent for much of the 2024 season but struggled in July before landing on the injured list with what proved to be a season-ending back issue in August. He’s being paid $3.7MM this year in his final season of club control. Zerpa isn’t even arb-eligible yet and is controllable through 2028. He posted a 3.86 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and massive 58.4% grounder rate in 2024. Both are in line to play notable roles for manager Matt Quatraro.

Adam Duvall Seeking $3MM+ In Free Agency

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Adam Duvall remains unsigned a few weeks into Spring Training. That was also the case last offseason. It wasn’t until March 14 that the veteran outfielder inked a $3MM contract with the Braves.

Duvall is evidently seeking a similar or better deal this time around. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the 36-year-old has informed teams that he intends to retire unless he’s guaranteed at least $3MM. To that end, Sherman writes that Duvall declined an offer from the Royals that would’ve come with a $1MM guarantee and another $1MM in performance bonuses.

A $3MM contract isn’t much by major league standards, but Duvall is coming off a much worse season than he was when he signed for that amount last spring. The right-handed hitter had a personal-worst .182/.245/.323 batting line over 330 plate appearances. The Braves kept him on the roster all season but dramatically curtailed his playing time as the year progressed. Duvall started 61 games before the All-Star Break but was in the opening lineup on only 13 occasions in the season’s second half. Atlanta left him off their Wild Card roster.

That’s in marked contrast to his productive 2023 campaign while a member of the Red Sox. Duvall popped 21 homers with a .247/.303/.531 slash through 353 trips to the plate two seasons back. While his strikeout and walk numbers were more or less unchanged year over year, his ground-ball rate jumped by 11 percentage points. Duvall’s average exit velocity ticked down by almost two miles per hour. That unsurprisingly impacted his power production, as he managed only 11 homers in nearly as much playing time as he’d had with Boston.

To his credit, Duvall remained productive in a platoon capacity. He hit .252/.341/.514 with eight of his home runs in 123 plate appearances against left-handers last year. His numbers against righties (.143/.188/.219 with three homers in 207 PAs) were unplayable, but he could perhaps contribute if used more selectively. Kansas City was evidently willing to give him a major league roster spot for that role, presumably as a platoon partner for lefty-swinging left fielder MJ Melendez. Their offer wasn’t to his liking, however.

Duvall has played in parts of 11 MLB seasons. He has a little less than nine years of big league service time. Baseball Reference has calculated his career earnings just north of $27MM. While it’s easy to understand teams’ reluctance to match or top last year’s salary after the season he just had, Duvall has banked a lot of money and seems not to be interested in playing for marginally more than the $760K league minimum at this stage of his career.

Brandon Belt seemingly took a similar approach last winter (when he was coming off a much better season than Duvall is). He reportedly declined an incentive-laden offer from the Mets and wound up sitting out the season. Belt hasn’t made an official retirement announcement, but there was nothing to suggest that he was seeking opportunities this offseason. Anthony Rizzo recently told The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that while he wants to continue his career, he has rebuffed interest from teams that “want (him) to play for basically league minimum.” Rizzo, who said he’s concerned that taking what he considers to be an offer below his value could contribute to a precedent that hinders other veteran players, remains a free agent.

Mike Moustakas To Retire

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The Royals announced that they will have a ceremony on May 31st to honor Mike Moustakas as he retires as a Royal. Presumably, he will sign a ceremonial one-day contract to retire with the club with whom he spent most of his career.

Mike MoustakasMoustakas, now 36, was selected second overall in the 2007 draft. Taken out of Chatsworth High School, Moustakas was one of several high-profile draft picks that the Royals made as part of an aggressive rebuild. In an era prior to the draft lottery, the Royals had nine straight losing seasons from 2004 to 2012, with at least 100 losses in the first three of those seasons. That allowed them to have an desirable draft position for a long stretch of time, getting guys like Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer, Moustakas and others in that span.

The hope was that this aggressive rebuild would allow them to build a stockpile of young talent that could eventually slingshot them to future success. Since Moustakas was drafted as an 18-year-old, it took him a few years to get to the majors, debuting in 2011.

He didn’t hit the ground running. By the end of the 2014 campaign, Moustakas had stepped to the plate 1,993 times at the club’s regular third baseman. However, he had hit just .236/.290/.379 in that time for a wRC+ of 82. Though it was taking “Moose” some time to fully acclimate to big league pitching, the club’s fortunes had turned around as hoped. They had made it to the playoffs in 2014 and progressed all the way to the World Series, though they lost a seventh-game heartbreaker to the Giants. Moustakas clubbed five homers in 15 games during that postseason run.

From there, he did find sustained success. Moustakas hit 22 home runs in 2015 and slashed .284/.348/.470 for a wRC+ of 123, easily his best offensive performance to that point. The Royals returned to the postseason and got the job done this time. Moustakas only hit .215/.257/.277 in the 2015 playoffs but the Royals made it back to the World Series, this time defeating the Mets in five games.

Over 2016 and 2017, Moustakas continued to perform as a solid big leaguer. He hit a combined .267/.312/.517 over those two seasons, which translated to a 113 wRC+, though the Royals fell from their heights. They were exactly .500 in 2016 and then finished 80-82 the following year.

Moustakas reached free agency going into 2018 and rejected a $17.4MM qualifying offer with the expectation of finding a robust market. MLBTR predicted he could secure a five-year, $85MM deal that winter. Unfortunately, he didn’t find the interest he was hoping for and lingered on the market unsigned into March. He and the Royals eventually reunited on a one-year, $6.5MM deal, far less than the QO he turned down.

In 2018, he had another solid but not outstanding season, split with the Brewers after a midseason trade. He hit .251/.315/.459 between the two clubs for a 105 wRC+. MLBTR made a far more modest prediction of $16MM over two years going into the next offseason. He returned to the Brewers on a one-year deal but with a slightly better average annual value of $10MM. Milwaukee planned to move Moustakas from third base to second base in deference to Travis Shaw.

With the Brewers that year, his second base defense was graded as close to average, adding some nice versatility to his profile. He hit 35 home runs that year, though his batting average and on-base abilities continued to be less impressive. His .254/.329/.516 batting line translated to a 113 wRC+. MLBTR felt he still had enough juice to get a two-year, $20MM deal but the new position seemed to unlock an extra gear for his earning power. The Reds, who had Joey Votto at first base and Eugenio Suárez at the corners, gave Moustakas a four-year, $64MM deal with the plan to install him at the keystone.

In the shortened 2020 season, Moustakas had another decent campaign. He hit eight home runs and slashed .230/.331/.468 for a wRC+ of 105. That helped the Reds to make the playoffs, their only postseason appearance of the past decade, but they were quickly dispatched without scoring a run in a two-game sweep at the hands of Atlanta.

His production tailed off from there and never really recovered. He put up a line of .227/.291/.372 from 2021 onwards as various injuries limited his ability to take the field. He played less than 80 games in both 2021 and 2022, getting designated for assignment after the latter of those two seasons. He was released and signed with the Rockies. He got into 47 games with them and seemed to be bouncing back, hitting .270/.360/.435, before getting flipped to the Angels. But he then hit just .236/.256/.371 in 65 games for the Halos. Going into 2024, he signed a minor league deal with the White Sox but hit .195/.283/.317 during the spring and was released at the end of camp.

Though he didn’t start or end his career with a bang, he had a strong run for a few years as an above-average player. Overall, he got into 1,427 major league games and stepped to the plate 5,577 times. He hit .247/.307/.431 for a 96 wRC+ and generated 15.1 wins above replacement, per the calculations of FanGraphs. He hit 215 home runs, scored 595 times and drove in 683. From 2015 to 2020, he slashed .262/.326/.490 for a 113 wRC+ and tallied 12.2 fWAR. He made three All-Star clubs in there and won a World Series ring. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Moustakas on his career and wish him the best in whatever comes next.

10 Out Of Options Players To Watch This Spring

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One of the most interesting elements of spring training every year, at least for those of us who feast on roster construction minutiae, is the collection of players who are out of minor league options. MLBTR just released a full list of such players earlier today.

In many instances, a player being out of minor league options is inconsequential. Justin Steele, Isaac Paredes and Evan Phillips are among the players who fit that description but are in no risk of losing their MLB roster spot. They're all key players on big league rosters who'd never be in danger of being sent down to the minors anyhow.

However, there are typically a handful of players every spring who are on the roster bubble with their current club but who could be a better fit on a team with less competition in their current position. Most of these players have already had big league opportunities with their current club but whether due to injury or poor performance (or both) have yet to firmly seize hold of a roster spot. As players exhaust their minor league options, they'll tend to face increased competition from younger players progressing through the minor league ranks and/or external additions made via trade or free agency. An out-of-options player who doesn't fit his current roster can still go on to find a more solid role and some success elsewhere. Joey Bart was in just this spot last year and after being squeezed out in San Francisco has emerged as Pittsburgh's starting catcher. The Yankees didn't have a spot for Ben Rortvedt, but he's the Rays' clear No. 2 catcher now.

Let's run through 10 names to keep an eye on this spring. Not all of these players will lose their roster spots, and even some who do might not wind up making an impact elsewhere. But each of the names listed here has some reason to hold a bit more intrigue than many of their out-of-options brethren (players listed alphabetically)...

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Royals Notes: Erceg, Massey, Blanco

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Lucas Erceg got his first legitimate run as a closer after the Royals acquired him from the A’s at last year’s deadline. The flamethrowing righty took to that role, working to a 2.88 earned run average while striking out 32% of opponents over 25 regular season innings. Erceg recorded 11 saves and six holds while only surrendering two leads. He went 3-3 on postseason save opportunities while tossing six innings of two-run ball in his first playoff action.

Despite Erceg’s excellent finish, the Royals made a significant move at the back of their bullpen this winter. They signed All-Star righty Carlos Estévez to a two-year, $22MM free agent deal. That appeared to be a fallback after the Royals missed in a couple bigger swings at an outfield acquisition. Estévez has been a closer between the Angels and Phillies over the past two seasons. His 57 saves since the start of 2023 ranks ninth in MLB.

The Royals haven’t made an official decision about who’ll take the ninth inning this year. It doesn’t seem there’ll be any animosity on Erceg’s part if the team defers to Estévez’s experience. “I don’t really care what my role is going to be,” Erceg told Anne Rogers of MLB.com. He praised GM J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro for giving him a heads-up that the organization was closing in on a deal with Estévez before the signing was announced. Erceg said his primary focus is on helping K.C. return to the postseason whether as a closer or in a leverage role in the seventh and eighth innings.

Kansas City has thrown a decent amount of resources at fixing a bullpen that was a major weakness in the first half of last season. They acquired Hunter Harvey from the Nationals last summer, but a back injury essentially tanked his second half. Harvey has battled myriad injuries over his career, but he’s currently healthy and ticketed for a setup role. Erceg could join him as a bridge to Estévez at the back end. They’re still a little light from the left side. Angel Zerpa and Sam Long are coming off productive seasons but don’t have huge bat-missing upside. It’s nevertheless a far stronger group than they carried into 2024.

Along with Estévez, Jonathan India was Kansas City’s other significant offseason acquisition. He’ll slot atop the lineup while potentially moving around the diamond defensively. Both India and incumbent second baseman Michael Massey are likely to get reps at third base and in left field in addition to their work at the keystone. They’ve each gotten starts in left field and at second base in the first week of camp, with India picking up an appearance at third base as well. Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star writes that they’re likely to continue alternating positions every few games this spring.

In one injury development, depth outfielder Dairon Blanco has been sidelined by soreness in his right Achilles. An MRI this week revealed calcification in the tendon, Quatraro told reporters (via the MLB.com injury tracker). That’ll shut Blanco down for a few days but shouldn’t be a major concern. The speedster stole 31 bases in 38 attempts over 88 games last season.

Salary Details For Several Minor League Deals

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Every offseason, the primary focus for baseball fans is on trades and free agent activity. Naturally, major league free agent signings garner the majority of the attention and generate the most buzz. Minor league signees come with less fanfare, typically with good reason. They tend to be older veterans who are looking to extend their playing careers or perhaps younger names looking to rebound from an injury or a disappointing showing the prior season (sometimes the prior few seasons).

As spring training progresses, we’re seeing an uptick in minor league signings. Free agents who’ve lingered on the market and felt their leverage in negotiations dry up begin to concede and accept non-guaranteed pacts to get to camp in hopes of winning a roster spot.

Salary details for minor league signees isn’t as prominently reported on as it is for players signing guaranteed big league deals. The Associated Press just published a list of free agent signings throughout the winter, including within salary details for a handful of (mostly) recent minor league signings. Many of the salaries reported by the AP were already known and reflected here at MLBTR, but the report does include more than two dozen previously unreported base salaries for players on minor league deals. Here’s a quick rundown (player salary links point back to prior MLBTR posts detailing that minor league signing):

Blue Jays: Jacob Barnes, RHP, $1.4MM | Ryan Yarbrough, LHP, $2MM

Braves: Curt Casali, C, $1.25MM | Buck Farmer, RHP, $1MM

Brewers: Manuel Margot, OF, $1.3MM | Mark Canha, 1B/OF, $1.4MM

Cubs: Brooks Kriske, RHP, $900K | Travis Jankowski, OF, $1.25MM | Chris Flexen, RHP, $1.5MM

Diamondbacks: Garrett Hampson, INF/OF, $1.5MM | Scott McGough, RHP, $1.25MM

Dodgers: Luis Garcia, RHP, $1.5MM

Giants: Lou Trivino, RHP, $1.5MM

Mariners: Shintaro Fujinami, RHP, $1.3MM | Trevor Gott, RHP, $1.35MM

Padres: Yuli Gurriel, 1B, $1.35MM ($100K higher than initially reported)

Rangers: Nick Ahmed, SS, $1.25MM | Jesse Chavez, RHP, $1.25MM | David Buchanan, RHP, $1.375MM | Kevin Pillar, OF, $1MM

Red Sox: Matt Moore, LHP, $2MM

Royals: Luke Maile, C, $2MM | Ross Stripling, RHP, $1.75MM

White Sox: Brandon Drury, INF/OF, $2MM | Mike Clevinger, RHP, $1.5MM

A few things bear emphasizing. First, this is clearly not a comprehensive list of minor league signings throughout the league — nor is it even a comprehensive list of the listed teams’ non-roster invitees to camp. Secondly, many of these sums are of little consequence to the team. They’re not even guaranteed, after all, and even if a player makes the Opening Day roster and earns the full slate of his minor league salary, most of these salaries aren’t going to carry significant payroll ramifications.

That’s not true across the board, though. For instance, the Rangers are fully intent on remaining under the $241MM luxury tax threshold. At present, RosterResource projects them at $235.7MM of luxury obligations. Opting to select the contract of Buchanan or Chavez rather than allocating those innings to pre-arbitration players who’s being paid at league-minimum levels (or a few thousand dollars north of it) would inch the Rangers’ CBT number forward. They’re not going to hit the tax line even in if they wind up adding multiple NRIs to the actual roster, but selecting their contracts will further narrow the resources president of baseball ops Chris Young will have at his disposal for midseason dealings.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, are effectively seated right at the tax threshold. RosterResource has them with $241.4MM of luxury considerations. Team president Sam Kennedy said after signing Alex Bregman that he expects his team will be a CBT payor in 2025. As things stand, the Sox could duck back under that threshold, but selecting the contract of Moore, Adam Ottavino (also $2MM) or another prominent NRI would further signal ownership’s willingness to return to luxury tax status for the first time since 2022.

There’s probably no getting back under the tax line for the Blue Jays, who currently have a $273.3MM CBT number. However, the front office would presumably like to avoid reaching $281MM in tax obligations, as that’s the point at which Toronto’s top pick in the 2026 draft would be dropped by ten spots. In-season trades will have more of an effect on their tax number than decisions on NRIs like Barnes, Yarbrough, Eric Lauer and others, but it bears mentioning that the Blue Jays are around $8MM shy of what many clubs consider to be the most detrimental impact of straying to deep into CBT waters.

Royals Notes: Rotation, Cameron, Bowlan, Mitchell

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Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and the re-signed Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen project as the Royals’ top four starters, setting up a competition for the fifth spot between such pitchers as Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, Kyle Wright, and Daniel Lynch IV.  However, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers writes that left-handed prospect Noah Cameron might also be on the radar as at least a depth arm, since Marsh (shoulder soreness) and Wright (hamstring strain) are both dealing with injuries.

Marsh’s right shoulder first began to bother him during his offseason ramp-up process, leaving the Royals taking a cautious approach to Marsh’s workload in spring camp.  Marsh did throw his first bullpen session of the spring on Friday, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be fully ready to go by Opening Day, given the slowed throwing progression.

In Wright’s case, his hamstring strain is thought to be mild in nature, though he’ll be delayed around a week in recovery.  It makes for a frustrating late development near what seemed to be the end of a much longer rehab process for Wright, who hasn’t pitched since September 2023 due to shoulder surgery.  Those shoulder problems also limited him to 31 innings during the 2023 season, so it has more or less been a two-year odyssey for Wright to return to form as a regular starting pitcher.

Bubic is now probably in the driver’s seat for the fifth starter’s job, yet he is being built back to a starters’ workload himself after a Tommy John surgery cost him most of the last two seasons.  Bubic was able to return to action last July and pitched well in a relief role, with a 2.67 ERA over 30 1/3 innings out of the K.C. bullpen.

All this uncertainty could open the door to a youngster like Cameron.  Rogers writes that the Royals have “reassured Cameron that he’ll be helping out in Kansas City at some point in 2025,” which would mark the 25-year-old’s MLB debut.  The club already showed some faith in Cameron by adding him to the 40-man roster last November, in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.

Cameron was a seventh-round pick for the Royals in the 2021 draft, and he made a great accounting for himself with a 2.32 ERA, 27.8% strikeout rate, and 6.7% walk rate over 54 1/3 innings with Triple-A Omaha last season.  Baseball America ranks Cameron as the eighth-best prospect in the Kansas City farm system, describing him as “a finesse lefthander” with an interesting four-pitch arsenal, highlighted by a 60-grade changeup.  Cameron’s fastball touched the 96mph threshold last season but he generally throws the pitch in the early 90s, still getting good results due to “the deceptive life on the pitch and its good vertical carry.”

The Royals also signed veteran swingman Ross Stripling to a minors deal last week, adding to the list of rotation candidates.  One name not mentioned as part of the competition is Jonathan Bowlan, since Rogers says the Royals see the right-hander as a relief pitcher heading into 2025.  Using Bowlan as a reliever could allow K.C. to take better advantage of his one remaining minor league option year, plus Rogers writes that Bowlan’s stuff “probably ticks up in short stints.”

Bowlan has worked as a starter for most of his minor league career, but he came out of the bullpen in 19 of his 35 appearances in Omaha last season.  The splits were telling, as Bowlan had a 2.77 ERA in 26 relief innings and a 5.58 ERA across 80 2/3 innings as a starter, as well as a much lower walk rate as a reliever.

Since Bowlan’s walk rate had started to tick upward over his last couple of minor league seasons, this improved control is a particularly interesting sign.  Working as a reliever might also help Bowlan get more of a foothold in the big leagues, as his MLB resume consists of three appearances and 5 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with Bowlan posting a 7.94 ERA in that small sample size.

In other Royals prospect news, one of Kansas City’s top minor leaguers hit a significant setback, as Blake Mitchell will undergo surgery to fix a fractured right hamate bone.  (Manager Matt Quatraro revealed the news to Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star and other reporters.)  Mitchell will need 4-6 weeks of recovery time, meaning Mitchell will miss the rest of spring camp, and will need to participate in extended Spring Training to make up for the lost prep time.  Hamate injuries aren’t usually too serious, yet it will cut into some important development time for the 20-year-old backstop.

Mitchell was the eighth overall pick of the 2023 draft, and was a fixture within the top-100 prospect lists this spring — ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him highest as the 42nd-best prospect in the sport.  Mitchell is already considered a solid defensive catcher, and he hit .232/.368/.424 with 18 home runs over 486 plate appearances last season, almost all of which came at A-level Columbia.  Pundits are mixed on Mitchell’s future as a hitter, but he has solid power potential and some unusual strength on the basepaths for a catcher.  Despite a lack of speed, Mitchell still stole 26 bags in 33 attempts last year.

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