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Nick Loftin

Royals Designate Joe Barlow For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | September 1, 2023 at 3:50pm CDT

The Royals announced their moves for today’s roster expansion, including the previously-reported selection of utility player Nick Loftin. They also recalled right-hander James McArthur and outfielder Edward Olivares, with right-hander Brady Singer going on the paternity list. To open a spot on the 40-man for Loftin, right-hander Joe Barlow was designated for assignment.

Barlow, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Rangers less than a month ago and was immediately optioned to Triple-A Omaha. He’s tossed 12 1/2 innings for the Storm Chasers since then but allowed 13 earned runs in that time, which will seemingly prompt the Royals to quickly move on.

His major league career began with a strong 1.55 ERA in 2021, though that was at least partially fuelled by a tiny .143 batting average on balls in play. His ERA jumped to 3.86 last year and 4.66 this year, as his strikeout rate also dropped year over year from 24.3% to 19.2% to 13.6%.

The Royals will now put Barlow back on waivers in the coming days. His results haven’t been great lately, but he’s not too far removed from having the closer’s role in Texas. He racked up 13 saves for the Rangers last year and 11 the year before. He still has two more option seasons after this one and has yet to reach arbitration. It’s possible he could interest clubs around the league who have a roster spot available and an idea of how to get him back on track.

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Kansas City Royals Transactions Brady Singer Edward Olivares James McArthur Joe Barlow Nick Loftin

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Royals To Promote Nick Loftin

By Darragh McDonald | August 31, 2023 at 5:15pm CDT

The Royals are calling up infield prospect Nick Loftin tomorrow, reports Anne Rogers of MLB.com. He will take one of the two extra spots when active rosters grow from 26 to 28 tomorrow, but he’s not yet on the 40-man roster and will need a corresponding move to get a spot there. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Loftin, 24, was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2020 draft. Though he was primarily a shortstop at Baylor prior to being drafted, the Royals have pushed him towards a utility role by bouncing him around the diamond throughout his minor league career, having spent some time at all four infield positions and in the outfield as well.

He began his professional career in High-A in 2021, hitting 10 home runs and stealing 11 bases in 90 games. His .289/.373/.463 battling line amounted to a wRC+ of 130, indicating he was 30% better than league average. Last year, he got into 128 games between Double-A and Triple-A, adding another 17 homers and 29 steals. However, his overall batting line of .254/.333/.403 amounted to a wRC+ of just 91. This year, he’s primarily been in Triple-A, hitting .270/.344/.444 for a wRC+ of 95.

He is currently considered the club’s #5 prospect at Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, while FanGraphs has him at #1. The general profile on Loftin is that he may not have a standout tool but does lots of things well. He can play multiple positions while providing a bit of speed and power without striking out too much.

He would have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft in a few months and was likely going to get a roster spot at that point anyway, but the Royals will give it to him now and use the final months of the seasons to get him some big league experience. How they get him into the lineup remains to be seen. Though he’s played all over, his primary positions this year have been second and third base. Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia have been getting the bulk of the playing time at those positions lately. But with Loftin’s versatility and the Royals being well out of contention at 41-94, they should be able to spread some playing time around.

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Kansas City Royals Transactions Nick Loftin

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