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Tyler Duffey

Royals Release Tyler Duffey

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The Royals have released right-hander Tyler Duffey, according to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided this afternoon. Duffey pitched out of the club’s bullpen earlier this year but was outrighted off the 40-man roster back in May.

The 31-year-old is a veteran of 10 big league seasons who first made his debut with the Twins back in 2015. A starting pitcher back then, Duffey impressed in ten starts with Minnesota in his rookie season as he posted a 3.10 ERA and 3.24 FIP in 58 innings of work down the stretch. Unfortunately for Duffey, he struggled badly in his first full season in a rotation role as a big leaguer. The righty made 26 starts for the Twins in 2016, but he posted an atrocious 6.43 ERA with a lackluster 4.73 FIP in his 133 innings of work. That performance ended his days as a starter pitcher, but after some mixed results early in his move to the bullpen he emerged as a steady contributor in the Twins’ relief corps.

From 2019 to 2021, Duffey posted an excellent 2.69 ERA with a 3.16 FIP while striking out an excellent 29.8% of batters in 144 innings of work. Those impressive numbers led the Twins to bring Duffey back in 2022 on a one-year, $3.8MM contract signed just before the non-tender deadline, but that move did not end up working out well for Minnesota. Duffey wound up regressing significantly as his ERA ballooned to 4.91 in 44 innings of work while his strikeout rate plummeted to just 21.1%. Duffey’s struggles eventually proved significant enough that the Twins opted to part ways with the righty entirely, designating him for assignment in early August of that year.

The righty briefly caught on with the Yankees and Rangers late in the year after being cut loose by the Twins but wouldn’t appear in the big leagues again until October of the following year when he was briefly brought up by the Cubs nearly eight months after he signed a minor league deal to pitch in the organization. While he managed just two innings of work in Chicago, Duffey posted a respectable 3.77 ERA in 45 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A for the club’s Iowa affiliate last year. That performance was enough to earn Duffey another minor league deal last winter, this time in the Royals organization.

Since signing with the Royals, 2024 has proven to be a rollercoaster year for Duffey. The right-hander underwent a procedure to treat melanoma during Spring Training after a cancerous mole was discovered during his physical after signing with Kansas City, and while he didn’t make the Opening Day roster he did get selected to the big leagues in late April. Unfortunately, the right-hander’s brief stay in the majors did not go well as he surrendered a 5.00 ERA in nine appearances and walked 19% of the batters he faced. Duffey was outrighted to the minors in late May and has pitched to an excellent 2.01 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of work since his demotion.

He’ll now head back into free agency in search of an opportunity to crack a big league roster elsewhere. Given the righty’s track record and success in the minors this year, it’s certainly feasible to imagine a team being interested in bringing Duffey into the fold at least as a non-roster depth option, and it’s possible a team could even be willing to give him a shot at the big league level in fairly short order.

Royals Outright Tyler Duffey

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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.

Royals Designate Tyler Duffey For Assignment

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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 Select Tyler Duffey

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1:35pm: The Royals announced that Duffey’ contract has indeed been selected from Omaha. Left-hander Anthony Veneziano was optioned to open a spot on the active roster.

Regarding Lyles, the team understandably hasn’t disclosed the nature of his personal matter, but it sounds as though he could be in for a notable absence. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that he’ll “likely be sidelined for some time.”

9:05am: Veteran right-handed reliever Tyler Duffey will join the Royals for tonight’s game against the visiting Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The team will need to formally select Duffey’s contract.

Kansas City already has an open spot on its 40-man roster. The team announced over the weekend that right-hander Jordan Lyles has been placed on the temporarily inactive list to tend to an undisclosed personal matter. Their transaction log at MLB.com further specifies that Lyles has now been moved to the restricted list — a procedural move that’ll open a 40-man roster spot while he’s away from the club. The 33-year-old Lyles has had a nice start to his season, tossing five shutout innings after moving from the rotation to the ’pen. He’s fanned three hitters and allowed only two hits and two walks.

Duffey, also 33, was a staple in the Twins’ relief corps from 2017-22 and peaked as a high-end setup option in Minnesota from 2019-21. Over that three-year period, he tossed 144 innings with a 2.89 ERA while punching out 29.8% of his opponents. Duffey’s fastball dipped in 2022, however, and his results slipped along with that loss of velocity. He yielded a jarring eight home runs in 44 innings while pitching to a 4.91 ERA before being designated for assignment and cut loose. Duffey pitched two innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen last season but spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, where he posted a 3.47 ERA in 49 1/3 frames.

The Royals signed Duffey to a minor league contract over the winter. Upon reporting to spring training he had a health scare, when his intake physical revealed a cancerous mole on his shoulder. The right-hander underwent a procedure to remove that melanoma, and he’s thankfully been cancer-free since — though at the time he revealed the issue to reporters, he noted that he’d be receiving routine checks for the foreseeable future.

Duffey has had a nice start to his season in Triple-A Omaha, pitching 8 1/3 innings and allowing three runs (3.24 ERA). He’s walked too many hitters, dishing out a free pass to five of his 37 opponents (13.5%), but he’s also whiffed 10 (27%) and kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 54.5% clip.

31 Veterans With Opt-Out Opportunities Looming This Week

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One of the provisions in that 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement is uniform opt-out opportunities for Article XX(B) free agents on minor league deals. An Article XX(B) free agent is one with at least six years of service time who finished the previous season on a major league roster or injured list. Any such player who signs a minor league deal more than ten days prior to Opening Day can opt out of that deal at three points if they haven’t been added to the 40-man roster: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1.

The first uniform opt-out date on this year’s calendar falls Friday at 1pm CT. Any player can trigger his out clause at that point, and the team will subsequently be given a 48-hour window to either add him to the roster or release him. With many clubs around the league dealing with spring injuries, some of these players should be able to find opportunities elsewhere if they can’t find it with their current organization. Their current clubs can prevent them from opting out by giving them a roster spot, but that may involve cutting someone else.

Angels: OF Jake Marisnick, LHP Drew Pomeranz

Marisnick, 33 this month, is a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder with a plus glove and questionable bat. He can hold his own against right-handed pitching (career .237/.293/.417, 93 wRC+) but is typically overmatched by righties (.223/.274/.365, 74 wRC+). He’s having a huge spring, but the Angels already have Taylor Ward, Mike Trout, Mickey Moniak, Aaron Hicks and Jo Adell on the 40-man roster.

The 35-year-old Pomeranz was a good starter from 2016-17 and a dominant reliever from 2019-21, but he didn’t pitch in 2022-23 due to arm injuries. He’s pitched 6 2/3 innings with the Angels this spring with middling results.

Blue Jays: 3B/2B Eduardo Escobar, 1B Joey Votto

A poor season between the Mets and Angels last year set the stage for the 35-year-old Escobar to take a minor league deal. He’s long been a productive MLB hitter and even topped 30 homers back in 2019, but Escobar’s now in his mid-30s and struggling through an ugly spring while trying to win a spot in a crowded infield mix also featuring Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, Ernie Clement and Davis Schneider.

Votto, 40, has been connected the Blue Jays seemingly forever due to his Canadian roots. He finally suited up for the Jays after agreeing to a minor league deal and homered in his first at-bat of camp. He’s had a lackluster showing at the plate in each of the past two MLB seasons, however.

Cubs: 1B/OF Garrett Cooper, RHP Carl Edwards Jr., OF David Peralta

An underrated hitter for years in Miami, Cooper slashed .274/.350/.444 in nearly 1300 plate appearances from 2019-22 before a poorly timed down showing in 2023’s walk year. He’s hitting quite well in spring training, and the Cubs don’t have a proven option at first base — though they’re understandably high on 26-year-old trade acquisition Michael Busch.

Edwards had a nice 2022 season with the Nats and posted a solid ERA in 2023 but did so with dismal K-BB numbers. He’s competing for a spot in an uncharacteristically crowded Cubs bullpen and could be squeezed out. The 32-year-old pitched for the Cubs from 2015-19, so Chicago brass knows him well. From 2022-23 in D.C., he posted a 3.07 ERA but a middling 20% strikeout rate against a 10.5% walk rate.

Peralta, 36, has a trio of hits and a walk in ten plate appearances this spring. He was an above-average hitter with the D-backs every season from 2017-20 but has been less consistent of late. He’s a left-handed hitter who’s long had glaring platoon splits and is limited to the outfield corners.

Diamondbacks: SS Elvis Andrus

Andrus is 35 but can still pick it at shortstop or second base. His once above-average speed has faded to the 30th percentile of MLB players, per Statcast, but his range at short remains excellent. Andrus hit .251/.304/.358 (81 wRC+) for the White Sox in 2023 and only has one year of above-average offense (2022) in the past six seasons.

Guardians: RHP Carlos Carrasco

Old friend Cookie Carrasco is fighting for the fifth spot in the Guardians’ rotation, and news of Gavin Williams’ season-opening stint on the injured list could further open the door for the 36-year-old (37 on Thursday) to make the team. Carrasco was torched for a 6.80 ERA with the 2023 Mets. He allowed 1.80 homers per nine frames through 90 innings, with alarming batted-ball metrics (91.5 mph average exit velocity, 48.2% hard-hit rate, 10.7% barrel rate). He was a solid mid-rotation arm as recently as 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with sharp strikeout and walk rates.

Marlins: C Curt Casali

The veteran Casali has batted .201/.311/.315 over the past three big league seasons — a 78 wRC+ in 503 plate appearances. The 35-year-old is off to a rough start in camp and is a long shot to unseat defensive-minded Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt, both of whom are already on the 40-man roster.

Mets: 1B/DH Ji Man Choi

From 2017-22, Choi hit .254/.363/.465 (130 wRC+) against right-handed pitching. He walked at a 14.4% clip when holding the platoon advantage and fanned at a higher-than-average but still-manageable 24.1% rate. Lefties have always had Choi’s number, however, and his overall production cratered in 2023 while he dealt with Achilles and ribcage injuries. He’s fighting for a bench spot in New York alongside DJ Stewart and others.

Nationals: RHP Matt Barnes, OF Eddie Rosario, OF Jesse Winker

Barnes was an All-Star closer with the Red Sox in 2021 and briefly one of the game’s most dominant relievers, fanning more than 40% of his opponents for the bulk of that season. He wore down beginning in August and hasn’t been the same since a hip injury. Barnes’ velocity and strikeouts were way down in 2023 before he underwent season-ending surgery. He should have a good chance to win a spot in a Nationals bullpen that has little established talent.

Rosario and Winker are both left-handed-hitting outfielders who are best deployed in left field — with Winker having a particularly shaky defensive reputation. Winker is the younger of the two at 30 years old (to Rosario’s 32). Winker was quietly one of the most productive hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching for much of his time in Cincinnati, but knee and neck surgery in October 2022 look to have taken their toll on him. Rosario was the far more productive hitter in 2023. There may not be room for both veterans on the Washington roster. Winker has been in camp longer and been more productive in their small samples.

Orioles: 2B Kolten Wong

The Orioles seem to bring in a veteran infielder coming off a down season almost every year. It’s Wong’s turn in 2023. The 33-year-old was one of the game’s worst hitters in ’23, slashing just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. That was beyond out of character for Wong, who’d been an average or better hitter in five of the past six seasons. If the O’s don’t want to rush Jackson Holliday or Coby Mayo, Wong could win a spot on the roster — but he hasn’t hit that well in camp so far.

Pirates: RHP Chase Anderson

It’s been five years since Anderson’s last solid season in a big league rotation, but the well-liked veteran continues to get work each season. From 2020-23, he’s pitched to a 6.19 ERA in 192 MLB frames — including a 5.42 mark in 86 1/3 innings last year (mostly with the Rockies). Anderson doesn’t miss many bats, but he has good command and is having a nice spring with the Pirates. He’s competing with Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Roansy Contreras, Domingo German and others for one of two generally open rotation spots in Pittsburgh.

Rangers: INF Matt Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, RHP Jose Urena

A contact-oriented hitter who can play all over the infield, the 33-year-old Duffy faces an uphill battle with Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue all on the 40-man roster ahead of him. Nathaniel Lowe will open the season on the injured list, but that’ll likely work to Jared Walsh’s benefit more than Duffy.

Greene, 35, is a former All-Star closer/setup man who peaked with the Tigers and Braves from 2017-20. He’s thrown just three innings in each of the past two MLB seasons but also turned in strong numbers with the Cubs in Triple-A last year.

The 32-year-old Urena made five dismal starts for the Rockies early in the 2023 season and five solid ones for the White Sox late in the season. He also pitched well for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate. A solid arm for the Marlins in 2017-18, Urena has a 5.50 ERA in 350 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2019. He’s had a nice spring and could be a depth piece for an injury-plagued Rangers rotation.

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi signed last week and will look to get back on track after a shoulder injury cost him the 2023 season. With the exception of an injury-wrecked 2020 season, he’s been a dependable five-inning starter dating back to 2014 (3.98 ERA in 1216 innings). The Rays’ pitching staff is dealing with plenty of injuries, and Odorizzi should be an option for the Rays early in the season.

Red Sox: 1B C.J. Cron, RHP Michael Fulmer, C Roberto Perez, LHP Joely Rodriguez

Cron has four seasons of 25-plus homers under his belt and was consistently an above-average hitter from 2014-22. Injuries tanked his 2023 season, but he has a strong track record of hitting for power — with largely even platoon splits. He’d make a nice right-handed complement to Triston Casas and/or Masataka Yoshida at first base and designated hitter, providing some insurance against an injury to either.

Perez is an all-glove backup who’s never hit much outside the juiced ball season in 2019, when he popped 24 of his 55 career homers. The Sox figure to go with Reese McGuire and Connor Wong behind the plate, making him a long shot to land a roster spot.

Rodriguez signed a big league deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2023 season but only pitched 11 innings due to injury. He’s having a decent spring training — two runs on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings — and has a good chance to win a spot in a patchwork Red Sox bullpen. If not, his ability to miss bats and pile up grounders would likely draw interest elsewhere.

Fulmer won’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing surgery last summer. His minor league deal is a two-year contract that stretches into 2025. The two sides knew this going into the arrangement and there’s no reason to expect he’ll opt out.

Royals: RHP Tyler Duffey

Duffey was a mainstay in the division-rival Twins’ bullpen and was a high-end setup option at his peak in 2019-21, posting a 2.89 ERA across 144 frames while fanning 29.8% of his opponents. His results slipped in 2022 as he lost some life on his fastball, and he pitched just two MLB frames with the Cubs in 2023. Duffey recently had a procedure to remove a cancerous mole from his shoulder that understandably halted his baseball activity for a bit. He’s hopeful he’ll pitch again this spring, and while the larger takeaway is relief that the melanoma was discovered and quickly treated, his track record could also give him a shot to crack the Royals’ bullpen early in the season.

White Sox: RHP Jesse Chavez, RHP Brad Keller, RHP Dominic Leone, 3B/1B Mike Moustakas, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Bryan Shaw

Chavez, 40, has been excellent with the Braves in each of the past three seasons but struggled in stints with the Cubs and Angels. He’s having a tough spring with the White Sox but carries a 2.81 ERA in his past 137 2/3 MLB frames, spanning the 2021-23 seasons.

Keller has spent his entire big league career with the Royals but saw his time in Kansas City come to a rough ending. After a three-year run as a solid starter, Keller struggled in three subsequent seasons, culminating in an IL stint for symptoms indicative of thoracic outlet syndrome. He hasn’t pitched in an official spring game for the White Sox.

Leone struggled late in the 2023 season but has a cumulative 3.38 ERA in 157 innings over the past three seasons. He’s having a solid spring training, has late-inning experience, and seems like a decent bet to win a spot in a White Sox bullpen that’s been completely torn down since last summer.

Moustakas has turned in three straight below-average seasons at the plate and is struggling again with the White Sox in camp (.167/.268/.278 in 41 plate appearances). The Sox have Yoan Moncada and Andrew Vaughn at the corners, plus Gavin Sheets as a lefty-swinging first base option (and corner outfielder) off the bench. Moose seems like a long shot to make the club.

Pillar would give the Sox a right-handed complement to lefty-hitting corner outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Dominic Fletcher. He’s 35 and no longer the plus-plus defensive center fielder he once was but could give them some insurance for Luis Robert Jr. in center as well. He hit .228/.248/.416 with nine homers in 206 plate appearances for the Braves last year.

Shaw pitched 45 2/3 innings for the Sox last year and delivered a respectable 4.14 ERA in that time. His production has tailed off substantially since his days as a consistent setup presence in the Cleveland bullpen — evidenced by a 5.07 ERA over his past six seasons. He’s been tagged for a dozen earned runs in 7 1/3 spring frames but does have 10 strikeouts.

Royals’ Tyler Duffey Recently Underwent Procedure To Treat Melanoma

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Veteran reliever Tyler Duffey revealed today that he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mole from his left shoulder last week (link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). Duffey fortunately said that testing after the surgery has come back negative, although he’ll continue to undergo periodic check-ups over the next few months. Bally Sports Kansas City provides video of his media session on X.

Duffey noted the skin spot to doctors when he reported for his intake physical as a non-roster invitee with the Royals. He underwent a biopsy that revealed it to be melanoma last Monday. Duffey nevertheless pitched a scoreless inning against the Cubs before going in for surgery to remove what remained of the cancerous tissue the following day. He hasn’t pitched since then but was cleared to begin light baseball activities today, Rogers writes. Duffey is hopeful of getting back into games before the conclusion of Spring Training.

An understandably emotional Duffey revealed that both his parents had had cancer. He told reporters that his decision to publicize his diagnosis is to encourage others to be vigilant. “We’re in the sun a lot. We’re outside always, often not even thinking about it, sitting in a bullpen. … It takes nothing to get checked, I guess that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from it. It’s no effort other than showing up.”

A longtime division rival of the Royals, Duffey has spent the majority of his career with the Twins. He worked in a high-leverage role for Minnesota between 2019-21, combining for a 2.69 ERA in 144 appearances over that stretch. Duffey stumbled to a 4.91 mark in 2022. He spent most of last season in the minors, although he returned to the big leagues for a two-inning appearance with the Cubs in the final weekend of the year. Duffey inked a non-roster pact with Kansas City in December and is battling for a job in the relief corps this spring. MLBTR sends our best wishes.

Royals Agree To Minor League Deals With Mike Brosseau, Tyler Duffey, Sam Long

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The Royals announced that they have agreed to terms on minor league deals with infielder Mike Brosseau, left-hander Sam Long and right-handers Tyler Duffey and Dan Altavilla. Reporting on Altavilla’s deal came out yesterday but the other three are new developments.

Brosseau, 30 in March, started the 2023 campaign with the Brewers but hit just .205/.256/.397 in 29 games and was outrighted in July. He then signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball but hit just .191/.218/.287 for that club.

It obviously wasn’t an amazing year for Brosseau, but he has some decent showings in his past. He got into 88 games with the Rays over 2019 and 2020, hitting .284/.343/.500 over that time for a wRC+ of 130. He then slumped badly in 2021 before getting flipped to Milwaukee, which led to a bounceback season. He hit .255/.344/.418 in 70 games for the Brewers for a wRC+ of 118.

If he could back to anything close to that, he could be a decent utility player for the Royals. He’s played all four infield positions in his career and has even had short stint in the outfield corners. The club is set at shortstop and first base with Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino but the other infield spots are less secure. Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey are the favorites for third and second base, respectively, but each of them had subpar offensive seasons in 2023.

The Royals recently signed Garrett Hampson to a major league deal, adding some depth all around the roster, but Brosseau should do the same in a non-roster capacity. If Brosseau gets selected at any point, he still has an option remaining, which would allow the Royals to send him back to the minors without exposing him to waivers.

Long, 28, has logged 128 innings over the past three seasons, pitching for the Giants and Athletics. He has a 4.92 earned run average in that time, along with an 18.5% strikeout rate, 9% walk rate and 40.5% ground ball rate. The Royals only have two lefty relievers on the roster right now in Jake Brentz and Josh Taylor, both of whom dealt with significant injury issues in 2023. If Long can earn his way onto the roster, he’s out of options but can be retained for future seasons since he has under two years of service time.

Duffey, 33 this month, spent 2023 in the Cubs’ system after signing a minor league deal. At the Triple-A level, he threw 45 1/3 innings with 3.77 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate. He was selected to the club’s roster on the last day of the season and tossed two innings in the final game on the schedule.

He had a really strong run for the Twins over 2019 and 2020, posting a 2.31 ERA over 81 2/3 innings in those two campaigns, striking out 34.2% of opponents while issuing walks at just 6.1% rate. But his ERA jumped to 3.18 in 2021 and 4.91 in 2022. The Royals’ bullpen has plenty of uncertainty after trading away Aroldis Chapman and Scott Barlow last year, perhaps leaving space for someone like Duffey to take advantage.

Cubs Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Cubs announced several roster moves this afternoon. The club selected the contracts of right-handers Shane Greene and Tyler Duffey, while transferring infielder Nick Madrigal and right-hander Michael Fulmer to the 60-day IL to clear space on the 40-man roster for the duo. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski and left-hander Jordan Wicks were optioned to the minors to make room for the duo on the active roster. In a separate pair of moves, second baseman Nico Hoerner was placed on the 10-day IL with a left knee contusion while infielder Jared Young was recalled to replace Hoerner on the active roster.

Greene is in the tenth season of his big league career, having debuted as a member of the Yankees back in 2014. From 2017-2020, Greene was a strong set-up option at the back of the bullpen for the Tigers and Braves, posting a 3.25 ERA and 4.04 FIP in 221 1/3 innings of work, including his lone All Star campaign in 2019. Unfortunately, he’s struggled badly since then with a 6.83 ERA in 27 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 campaign. Greene was selected to the major league roster by the Cubs earlier this year, but recorded just one scoreless inning before being outrighted off the 40-man roster. Now he’s back for the final game of the season, with the Cubs having been eliminated from postseason contention last night.

Duffey, 31, spent his entire career as a member of the Twins prior to the 2023 campaign. Since his debut in 2015, he’s posted a 4.57 ERA and 3.96 FIP in 475 innings of work with Minnesota. Upon hitting free agency last offseason, Duffey signed on with the Cubs on a minor league deal but is only just cracking the big league roster despite a solid 3.77 ERA in 45 1/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level. That’s in part thanks to a elevated 12.6% walk rate. Still Duffey posted a solid 29% strikeout rate and will now appear in the ninth big league season of his career, should he get into today’s game.

Departing the roster to make room for the pair of veterans are Wesneski and Wicks, a pair of youngsters who each got auditions in the Chicago rotation this season. Wesneski posted a 4.72 ERA and 5.52 FIP across 87 2/3 innings of work with the big league club, while Wicks sported a sterling 3.00 ERA and solid 3.96 FIP through six starts before getting shelled during last night’s game against the Brewers in Milwaukee, which raised his season stats in the majors to a 4.41 ERA and 4.70 FIP. Both youngsters figure to enter Spring Training next season as potential options for the Cubs at the major league level.

Meanwhile, Hoerner heads to the IL after fouling a pitch off his knee during Friday’s game and sitting out on Saturday. With the Cubs having been eliminated from postseason contention last night, clearly the club saw no reason to have Hoerner play through the injury on the last day of the season. It was a strong campaign for Hoerner, who slashed .283/.346/.383 in 688 trips to the plate while going 43-for-50 on the basepaths and playing elite defense at second base. Taking Hoerner’s place on the active roster is Young, a 27-year-old rookie who made his MLB debut with the Cubs last year. Through 65 trips to the plate in the big leagues the past two seasons, Young has slashed .224/.308/.466 while playing first base and right field.

The moves are purely procedural for both Madrigal and Fulmer, who were already on the injured list through the end of the season.

Tyler Duffey Exercises Opt-Out In Cubs Deal

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Veteran reliever Tyler Duffey has triggered an opt-out in his minor league contract with the Cubs, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. He’s the second Cubs reliever in Triple-A to exercise a June 1 opt-out date, as Vinny Nittoli did the same this morning as well. As is the case with Nittoli, the Cubs will have 48 hours to select Duffey’s contract or release him, so he’s not technically a free agent just yet but could very likely return to the market in a couple days.

The 32-year-old Duffey has 475 innings of big league experience, all coming with the Twins, who selected him out of Rice University in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. Duffey impressed as a starter in his 2015 big league debut but struggled in that role for the next few seasons before ultimately shifting to the bullpen, where he spent a couple years as a strong setup option in Minnesota. From 2019-20, the righty pitched to a brilliant 2.31 ERA with a 34.2% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate, piling up 27 holds along the way.

Duffey posted quality bottom-line results in 2021 as well, recording a 3.18 ERA and a career-best 22 holds in 62 1/3 innings. However, his strikeout and walk rates dipped to 24% and 11%, respectively, and his fastball sat at 92.6 mph — a drop from its 94 mph peak. The wheels came off in 2022, when Duffey was rocked for a 4.91 ERA in 44 frames, with a particularly tough 1.64 HR/9 mark. The Twins designated him for assignment and released him.

Duffey inked subsequent minor league deals with both the Rangers and Yankees, but neither called him up from Triple-A before season’s end, at which point he became a minor league free agent and eventually signed with Chicago. Thus far in 2023, Duffey has pitched 22 1/3 innings with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Iowa. In that time, he’s recorded a 4.43 ERA with an above-average 26.1% strikeout rate but a bloated 15.2% walk rate.

Outside of excellent performances from Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr., the Cubs’ bullpen has struggled considerably in 2023. Cubs relievers have baseball’s fourth-worst ERA at 4.60, and their primary offseason additions — Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer — have both fallen well short of expectations. Duffey would represent a veteran alternative or complement to the current group, but the Cubs may not want to open a 40-man roster spot to take a look. If that indeed proves the case, Duffey will hit the market and look to latch on with another club seeking bullpen depth.

Cubs, Tyler Duffey Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Tyler Duffey, as first reported by Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Ballengee Group client will be invited to big league camp this spring.

Duffey, 32, was a mainstay in the Twins’ bullpen from 2017 until this past summer, when he began to struggle with diminished velocity, a dwindling strikeout rate and increased susceptibility to home runs. The former fifth-round pick appeared in 40 games for Minnesota this past season but pitched to a 4.91 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and a bloated 1.64 HR/9 mark. The Twins designated Duffey for assignment on Aug. 5 and released him three days later. Duffey signed minor league deals with the Rangers and Yankees over the next few weeks but didn’t make it back to the Majors with either.

Prior to those 2022 struggles, Duffey had been a regular in late-inning situations with the Twins. There were some red flags in 2021 when both his strikeout and walk rates trended in the wrong direction, but the Twins bet on the right-hander’s track record and kept him for the 2022 season.

From 2019-20, in particular, Duffey was an absolutely dominant force in the Minnesota relief corps. He tallied 81 2/3 innings over that two-year peak and posted a sterling 2.31 ERA to go along with a gaudy 34.2% strikeout rate, an excellent 6.1% walk rate and a 43.1% ground-ball rate.

That’ll be the form the Cubs hope they can unlock this spring. They’ll be the third team to take a chance on Duffey since he was cut loose by the Twins, however, and neither the Rangers (four walks in five scoreless Triple-A frames) nor the Yankees (seven runs in six Triple-A frames) managed to do so while taking their brief looks at Duffey late last summer.

Duffey fits the Cubs’ preferred mold of offseason bullpen shopping in recent years. Since the Cubs inked Craig Kimbrel to an ill-fated three-year contract, they’ve moved away from lavish additions in the bullpen, instead gravitating toward low-cost one-year contracts and minor league deals for veterans of note who are seeking to reestablish themselves.

The Cubs’ earlier $2.8MM deal with righty Brad Boxberger also fit into this bucket. Over the past three seasons they’ve also signed Mychal Givens, David Robertson, Daniel Norris, Ryan Tepera, Chris Martin, Brandon Workman, Trevor Williams and Dan Winkler to one-year deals worth $5MM or less, while some non-roster deals have been given out to notable names like Jesse Chavez, Pedro Strop, Adam Morgan and Robert Gsellman, among others.

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