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Mariners’ Jackson Kowar To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Jackson Kowar has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a tear in his right UCL.  General manager Justin Hollander told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times) that Kowar will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, so the righty will now be out of action until around the midpoint of the 2025 season.  The 60-day IL placement for Kowar creates a 40-man roster spot for Ryne Stanek, whose signing is now official.

It’s a brutal setback for Kowar, who went into 2024 looking for a fresh start.  The Royals selected Kowar 33rd overall in the 2018 draft, and viewed the righty as one of several young arms that would help spur the organization’s next contention window.  Unfortunately, Kowar (and basically all of Kansas City’s pitchers to date) has yet to show much in the big leagues, with only a 9.12 ERA to show for 74 innings over the last three seasons.

Kowar made eight starts in his 2021 debut season but has since worked only as a reliever in the majors.  The move to the bullpen upped his fastball velocity but not much else, as batters have continued to tee off on Kowar’s offerings.  Shaky control has also been detrimental to Kowar’s cause, with a 13.7% walk rate and a modest 20.1% strikeout rate.

The Royals opted to move on from Kowar in November when he was traded to the Braves for Kyle Wright, and Kowar’s stay in Atlanta lasted just a couple of weeks, as he was flipped to the Mariners as part of the five-player trade that brought Jarred Kelenic to Atlanta.  From Seattle’s perspective, the trade moved a good deal of salary off the books at the cost of Kelenic, and the M’s got to pick up a couple of younger arms in Kowar and Cole Phillips, a second-round pick for the 2022 draft.  Unfortunately, Phillips was already recovering from a TJ surgery and recently had to undergo a second procedure, while Kowar has now also been sidelined with the same surgery.

News surfaced earlier this week about a possible arm injury for Kowar, adding to a list of reliever injuries Seattle has already had to address this spring.  Gregory Santos has been dealing with soreness is his teres major area but is back throwing bullpen sessions, while Hollander also said that Matt Brash is upping his games of catch to throws of 90 feet.  Brash was recently given the green light to start throwing again after a bout of elbow inflammation, as it appeared as though he dodged what initially appeared to be a much more serious injury.  Given all these health concerns, it isn’t surprising the Mariners felt the need to spend $4MM on Stanek to reinforce the relief corps.

Mariners’ Jackson Kowar Being Evaluated For Possible Arm Injury

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The Mariners’ bullpen has already had its share of injury scares this spring. Fear of a monthslong absence for top setup man Matt Brash has been alleviated with a diagnosis of inflammation in his right elbow, but he’s weeks behind schedule now and will be built up cautiously. Trade acquisition Gregory Santos was shut down for a week earlier this spring due to a lat issue but has resumed throwing and could yet be ready for Opening Day, though that’s contingent on him avoiding any further setbacks of course. Now, Mariners manager Scott Servais tells reporters that right-hander Jackson Kowar is meeting with a doctor tomorrow to have his arm evaluated (X link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times).

That may not seem like a significant concern, given Kowar’s unsightly big league track record. The former Royals first-round pick and top prospect was traded to Atlanta and then to Seattle in a pair of change-of-scenery swaps over the winter. He’s 27 years old and, in parts of three big league seasons, has yielded more than an earned run per inning (75 runs in 74 frames). He also has a minor league option remaining. On paper, he looked like a long shot to make the team.

But as Divish recently wrote, Kowar has impressed the Mariners in camp. He’s averaged 96.1 mph on his heater in his career but was hitting 98 mph early in camp. Kowar has pitched a pair of scoreless innings, fanned three of his six opponents, and caught the team’s attention with the quality of his changeup. With Brash unlikely to be ready for the opener and Santos also still building up, there was a potential spot for Kowar to claim. Divish noted that he had “seemed to be locking in a spot” before soreness in his arm led to a temporary shutdown. Kowar last pitched on Feb. 28 and is now going for additional testing — an ominous sign.

The Mariners have a knack for unearthing bullpen talent. In the past few years they’ve turned unheralded pickups of Paul Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, Justin Topa, Kendall Graveman, Gabe Speier, Tayler Saucedo and others into impact moves. Their ability to find hidden gems to round out the relief corps has allowed the M’s to perennially field strong bullpens and also to avoid the types of multi-year deals for relievers that often turn into landmines. A few short looks in spring training is far too small a sample to indicate Kowar would be the next bargain find for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and his staff, but at the very least, the hard-throwing Kowar was trending in the right direction. At least for now, that’ll be put on hold — hopefully only for a brief period.

Already dealing with a trio of arm scares in the bullpen isn’t an enviable spot to be in — particularly since Seattle traded one of last year’s top setup men, the aforementioned Topa, to the Twins as part of their trade to acquire second baseman Jorge Polanco. The Mariners still have one of the game’s most talented closers in righty Andres Munoz, and they can look to lefties Speier and Saucedo to build on last year’s breakout showings to help form a setup corps. Santos could be ready for Opening Day still, and if not, he and Brash may not be delayed all that long.

But the Mariners were already likely to be relying on some unproven arms — Kowar among them. Righty Trent Thornton had a strong showing after coming over from the Blue Jays in a little-noticed trade last year. Flamethrower Carlos Vargas, acquired in the Eugenio Suarez trade, has a significant ceiling but worrying command issues. Swingman Austin Voth has had flashes of big league success but has lacked consistency. Former eighth-rounder Ty Adcock had a solid debut in ’23, but last year’s 15 2/3 innings in the majors were his first experience above Double-A. Offseason pickups of Mauricio Llovera, Collin Snider and Cody Bolton give the M’s some other options, but none are proven at the big league level. Veterans like Heath Hembree, Ty Buttrey and Trevor Kelley are in camp on non-roster deals.

The Mariners likely wouldn’t shy away from late-spring additions, be they via the trade market, the waiver wire or perhaps a late splash for one of the remaining free-agent relievers of note (e.g. Ryne Stanek). Even in the absence (so far) of a major injury, their depth is already being tested a bit.

Braves Acquire Jarred Kelenic, Marco Gonzales, Evan White From Mariners

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The Braves have acquired outfielder Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, left-hander Marco Gonzales and first baseman Evan White are also headed to Atlanta in the deal. In return, the Mariners will receive right-handers Jackson Kowar and Cole Phillips. The Braves have since announced the deal, which includes cash considerations headed from Seattle to Atlanta.

Kelenic, the sixth-overall pick in the 2018 draft and a former consensus top-5 prospect in the sport, struggled to a .168/.251/.338 slash line in 558 trips to the plate across his first two seasons in the majors. Despite the brutal start to Kelenic’s big league career, he managed to put together a solid campaign in 2023 as Seattle’s regular left fielder. In 416 trips to the plate across 105 games, the youngster slashed a solid .253/.327/.419. Now Kelenic, who is not yet eligible for arbitration, heads to Atlanta with five seasons of team control remaining coming off a career-best season in the majors where he posted a wRC+ of 108.

Even that performance came with some red flags, however. While Kelenic walked at an above average 9.9% clip, his 31.7% strikeout rate ranked in just the seventh percentile among qualified hitters and his overall slash line surely benefited from a .359 BABIP. He also struggled considerably after a hot April, slashing just .235/.314/.356 the rest of the way. That said, it’s worth noting that Kelenic, who will play the 2024 season at just age-24, posted a .321 wOBA in 2023 that was actually 12 points lower than his expected number of .333. Additionally, his .359 BABIP in 2023 may not be as outlandish as his career .268 mark in the majors may suggest, as he’s never posted a BABIP lower than .323 at the Triple-A level in a season during his career. In addition, it’s possible his late-season numbers are skewed by the fact that the 24-year-old missed more than two months after he suffered a fractured foot from kicking a water cooler back in July.

Looking ahead to 2024, The Athletic’s David O’Brien relays that the Braves plan to have Kelenic and Vaughn Grissom compete for the everyday role in left field during the spring, with a platoon situation between the two possible as Grissom looks to split time between the left field and the infield dirt. That said, it certainly seems possible that Kelenic could earn an everyday role in Atlanta if he shows his step forward in 2023 wasn’t a fluke. Even if Kelenic simply repeats his 2023 campaign he would represent a notable upgrade over Eddie Rosario, who drew 122 starts in left field for the Braves last year while slashing just .255/.305/.450 (100 wRC+) in 516 trips to the plate.

To acquire Kelenic, the Braves take on the salaries of both Gonzales and White. Gonzales is owed $12.25MM in 2024, while White is owed $7MM in 2024, $8MM in 2025, and a $2MM buyout on a $10MM club option for 2026. While it’s not currently known how much cash Atlanta received in the deal, it’s fair to assume the Braves are taking on the majority of that nearly $30MM in guaranteed money, including $19.25MM in dollars owed this next season. Before accounting for the cash received from Seattle, the deal pushes Atlanta’s 2024 payroll to just over $224MM and just under $261MM for luxury tax purposes, per RosterResource. If that projection holds going forward, it would put the Braves just over the second luxury tax threshold, which sits at $257MM for the 2024 campaign.

Gonzales, 32 in February, struggled to a 5.22 ERA in 50 innings across ten starts this season before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a nerve issue in his forearm. Gonzales is expected to be ready for Spring Training in 2024 and, if healthy, could provide the Braves with a serviceable back-end rotation option who could give competition to Reynaldo Lopez and Bryce Elder in Spring Training. Prior to his injury-marred 2023 season, Gonzales had been a reliable source of innings for the Mariners in recent years, averaging 174 innings of work across four 162-game seasons between 2018 and 2022. Gonzales’s contract includes a $15MM club option for the 2025 season that does not include a buyout, though Gonzales would likely have to take a significant step forward in 2024 for the Braves to consider exercising that option.

White, 27, does not figure to be a contributor to the Braves over the life of his contract. The former top prospect owns a career .165/.235/.308 slash line in the majors and has not appeared in the big leagues since May 2021. Over the past two seasons, White has appeared in just 30 professional games with a slash line of just .200/.310/.397 at the Triple-A level during that time. White spent almost the entire 2023 campaign on the 60-day IL, first due to a left adductor strain and then thanks to hip surgery, though he too is expected to be ready for Spring Training.

In addition to taking on the salaries of White and Gonzales, the Braves parted with a pair of interesting young arms in Kowar and Phillips. Kowar’s stay in the Braves organization was a short one, as the righty had just been acquired from the Royals last month as the return in the Kyle Wright trade. As a former top-100 prospect and Kansas City’s first-round pick in the 2018 draft, Kowar is an intriguing piece despite his struggles in the majors to this point in his career. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted at the time of his trade to Atlanta, Kowar averaged 97 mph on his fastball in 2023 after converting to full-time relief duties and thanks to his eligibility for a fourth option year in 2024 figures to provide the Mariners with a fireballing, optionable relief arm headed into next season. Phillips, meanwhile, was Atlanta’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. The 20-year-old has not yet made his professional debut after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but ranked as the Braves’ #7 prospect per MLB Pipeline prior to the swap.

As for the Mariners, the club is clearly in the midst of retooling their lineup. The club has traded both Kelenic and third baseman Eugenio Suarez and non-tendered DH Mike Ford since the offseason began while watching Teoscar Hernandez depart via free agency, leaving four major holes in the club’s lineup. That being said, the departures of those four players figure to help Seattle in their quest to improve their lineup’s contact skills next season; each of the aforementioned hitters struck out more than 30% of the time in 2024. Parting ways with four of the league’s most punchout prone bats is an excellent start toward that goal, even as the club faces an uphill battle in replacing the quartet’s production.

While replacing four members of the club’s starting lineup is no easy task, Seattle at least figures to have plenty of payroll space with which to accomplish that goal. RosterResource projects the club for a payroll of just $115MM in 2024 pending the addition of cash considerations sent to Atlanta, while Adam Judge of The Seattle Times notes that president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto indicated today that the club’s payroll will “very likely” rise in 2024 relative to its 2023 total. The Mariners posted a payroll of $140MM in 2023, meaning the club should have more than $25MM worth of room to make additions to their lineup, though it’s unclear how much Seattle is willing to surpass that $140MM figure.

Even with that amount of money available for additions, it’s worth noting that the club would need to significantly increase payroll over its 2023 levels to be able to make even one impact addition on the level of, for example, Cody Bellinger or Juan Soto. Given the number of holes the Mariners will need to fill in their lineup, it seems more likely that the club will be limited to adding mid-level salaries to its payroll. The free agent market is unlikely to offer many solutions, with the best mid-level bats such as Hernandez and Matt Chapman being among the more strikeout-prone players available this winter.

That said, the club has reportedly discussed deals for both outfielder Randy Arozarena and third baseman Isaac Paredes with the Rays recently. Adding even one of those players would surely require significant capital in terms of prospects and young players, though it’s worth noting that the Rays appear to be on the hunt for controllable starting pitching, which the Mariners have an excess of. Speculatively speaking, swinging a deal for Paredes and/or Arozarena would allow Seattle to shore up its lineup without breaking the bank, allowing the club to pursue contact-oriented bats like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. or Whit Merrifield in free agency.

Braves, Royals Swap Kyle Wright For Jackson Kowar

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The Braves have traded right-hander Kyle Wright to the Royals in exchange for fellow righty Jackson Kowar. Wright underwent shoulder surgery following the season and is expected to miss the entire 2024 campaign, though Kansas City will control him for two years after that.

Wright, 28, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 draft, and while he took several years to get there, he eventually broke out with a dominant showing in 2022. After posting a 6.56 ERA through 70 innings across parts of four seasons from 2018-21, Wright turned in a career-best performance in just about every capacity in 2022. Over the life of 180 1/3 frames, he logged a 3.19 earned run average with a 23.6% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate, 55.6% grounder rate and 0.95 HR/9.

That ostensibly set the stage for Wright to pitch near the top of the Atlanta rotation for years to come, but as is so often the case with pitchers, injuries intervened and changed his career trajectory. Wright reported shoulder soreness during spring training and opened the year on the 15-day IL. He returned in mid-April but was placed back on the injured list just three weeks later — this time eventually being moved to the 60-day IL. Wright returned for four September appearances and was hit hard while showing diminished velocity. He underwent surgery after the conclusion of the regular season and won’t be back on a big league mound until the 2025 campaign.

Overall, Wright’s 2023 season included just 31 innings of 6.97 ERA ball with strikeout, walk and home run rates that all trended in the wrong direction. He’s eligible for arbitration this winter and projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.4MM in his first trip through the process. He’ll all but certainly make an identical salary in 2025 after sitting out the ’24 campaign and accruing a full year of service on the 60-day injured list. Kansas City is effectively acquiring two healthy years of Wright. That first season will more or less cost them $2.8MM (next year’s ~$1.4MM salary and a matching amount the following year). Wright will be on an innings limit of some kind in ’25 and ideally be built up to a full workload in 2026.

In return for this long-term upside play on Wright, the Royals will give the Braves six years of club control over Kowar — a former Florida Gators star, first-round pick and top prospect who’s yet to pan out in K.C. Kowar has one minor league option year remaining after being granted a fourth option due to injuries (hat tip to Bowman), but the 27-year-old has yielded 75 earned runs in 74 Major League innings across parts of three seasons. Suffice it to say, he’s a project and an upside play in his own right.

While Kowar clearly hasn’t had any big league success to date, he’s seen a pronounced uptick in velocity since moving to a bullpen role on a full-time basis. After averaging 95.7 mph on his heater as a starter in 2021, he averaged 97 mph in 2023. That’s impressive life, to be sure, but the pitch also has well below-average spin — and Kowar’s broader 10.7% swinging-strike rate across his entire arsenal is still slightly below league average. Kowar struck out 21.2% if his opponents in 2023 but also walked 14.6% of them — bringing his career walk rate to 13.7%.

The Braves clearly see something they like, however. Kowar ranked among Baseball America’s top-100 prospects in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 offseasons and generally posted solid or better numbers throughout the minors up until the 2022 season. He’s been hit hard in Triple-A over the past two years, just as he has in the big leagues, but if the Braves can get him back to his pre-’22 form, they’ll have secured six years of club control over a hard-throwing bullpen arm.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com first reported the Royals were acquiring Wright for Kowar. Rogers’ colleague Mark Bowman first indicated that some type of deal involving Wright could be in the works.

AL Central Notes: McKenzie, White Sox, Kowar

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Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie is headed out on a rehab assignment this Saturday, tweets MLB.com’s Mandy Bell. He’s slated to throw three innings and throw up to 50 pitches in what’ll likely be the first of multiple rehab outings. Cleveland has been without the 25-year-old righty all season due to a teres major strain, and the Guards have felt the absence acutely. Cleveland starters, regularly among the best in baseball, instead rank 15th in MLB with a 4.32 ERA this season. They’ve gotten strong results from several young hurlers Tanner Bibee and Logan T. Allen, but righties Hunter Gaddis, Zach Plesac and (to a lesser extent) Peyton Battenfield have all had their struggles.

McKenzie was Cleveland’s second-best starter in 2022, trailing only ace Shane Bieber in innings pitched (191 1/3) and ERA (2.96) while leading Cleveland starters with a 25.9% strikeout rate. If all goes well on McKenzie’s rehab stint, he’ll likely step back into the rotation alongside Bieber, Bibee, Allen and Cal Quantrill. McKenzie is currently on the 60-day injured list, so Cleveland will have to make a 40-man roster move before long in order to reinstate him.

A few more notes from the AL Central…

  • White Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez is hoping to return by next weekend, writes James Fegan of The Athletic. Jimenez told Sox beat writers that on the morning he had his appendix removed, he woke up vomiting and unable to see straight or stand. “I really thought I was going to die,” Jimenez said of that unsettling experience, but the 26-year-old pledged to be back in the lineup soon. Manager Pedro Grifol discussed the ways in which he’ll work each of Jimenez, Jake Burger and third baseman Yoan Moncada into the lineup, noting that playing Moncada or Burger at second base isn’t a consideration. The Sox will likely give Jimenez some time in right field, ostensibly at the expense of Gavin Sheets, and Grifol indicated that the hot-hitting Burger could also see some time at first base. In 106 plate appearances this season, Jimenez has batted .258/.321/.423, though he was on a 14-for-33 hot streak at the time of his placement on the injured list.
  • Former top pitching prospect Jackson Kowar is back with the Royals but will move to the bullpen on a long-term basis, writes Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. Kowar, the No. 33 overall selection in the 2018 draft, was one of several college pitchers around whom the Royals hoped to center their latest rebuilding efforts. It hasn’t gone to plan — either with Kowar specifically or with the rebuild as a whole — as he’s been tattooed for a 10.76 ERA in 46 big league innings. The former Florida Gator standout and top-100 prospect worked near-exclusively as a starter in the minors prior to this season but has made 12 of his 13 appearances in relief in 2023. The transition hasn’t been a smooth one, evidenced by the 26-year-old’s 7.00 ERA and 22-to-15 K/BB ratio in 18 relief innings in Triple-A Omaha, but the team believes enough in the raw stuff to give Kowar a look at the big league level. Manager Matt Quatraro tells Thompson the Royals see Kowar as “someone we can count on going forward.”

AL Central Injury Notes: Moncada, Smith, Staumont, Meadows

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White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada should be activated from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, manager Tony La Russa told MLB.com’s Scott Merkin and other reporters.  Moncada’s placement (due to a right hamstring strain) was retroactive to June 18, so Tuesday would represent the minimum 10 days for the infielder.

Between this brief IL visit and the oblique injury that sidelined Moncada for the first month of the season, Moncada seems to have barely gotten out of the blocks in 2022, hitting only .179/.230/.292 in 113 plate appearances.  While the Sox are happy to remove a name from their increasingly crowded injured list, they’ll need Moncada to get back to his old form in order for Chicago to start making a move in the playoff race.

Let’s catch up on some other injury situations from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins placed veteran reliever Joe Smith on the 15-day injured list due to tightness in his upper trap muscle.  Left-hander Jovani Moran was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Now in his 15th Major League season, Smith has 2.78 ERA over 22 2/3 innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen, with his 62.7% grounder rate helping make up for an unimpressive set of Statcast metrics.
  • The Royals placed right-hander Josh Staumont on the 15-day IL (retroactive to June 23) due to a neck strain.  In corresponding moves, K.C. also optioned lefty Foster Griffin to Triple-A and called up right-handers Jackson Kowar and Matt Peacock.  Staumont told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that his neck problem had been “lingering for the past couple games,” and Rogers noted that Staumont’s velocity had clearly been impacted over those last few outings.  Staumont has a 3.81 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, and a high 14.7% walk rate over 26 innings for the Royals this season, and six of Staumont’s 17 walks allowed have come over his last four games.
  • Austin Meadows will start a minor league rehab assignment this week, with Tigers manager A.J. Hinch telling reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that Meadows will likely start game action on Tuesday.  Meadows was placed on the COVID-related IL on June 17 after testing positive for the coronavirus, but he has now cleared health protocols.

AL Central Notes: Royals, Singer, Lynch, Tigers, Peralta, Pineda, Twins

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The Royals finalized their season-opening rotation yesterday, with manager Mike Matheny telling reporters (including Alec Lewis of the Athletic) that southpaw Daniel Lynch will claim the final spot behind Zack Greinke, Brad Keller, Kris Bubic and Carlos Hernández. Notably, that means right-hander Brady Singer — who has started all 39 of his MLB appearances — is set to work out of the bullpen initially. Matheny indicated the Royals still view Singer and righty Jackson Kowar as starting pitchers long-term, but it’ll be Lynch who gets the nod for now.

It’s a bit of a surprising move, as Singer is coming off the better season. Neither hurler had a good ERA in 2021, but Singer had a better strikeout and ground-ball rate than Lynch while issuing slightly fewer walks. Lynch generated a slightly higher whiff rate, but Singer was among the league’s best pitchers at picking up called strikes. Some evaluators raised concerns during Singer’s prospect days about whether his below-average changeup and lower arm slot could diminish his ability to turn a lineup over multiple times, but he’s not shown marked second or third times through the order splits in his career thus far. Injuries and/or underperformance to the front five figure to give Singer another rotation look in the near future.

More pitching updates from around the division:

  • The Tigers are planning to use Wily Peralta in relief this season, writes Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. The righty started 18 of 19 appearances with Detroit last year, posting a solid 3.07 ERA but an underwhelming 14.4% strikeout rate. The Tigers brought Peralta back on a minor league contract this spring. He seems likely to get another big league call fairly soon, but he was delayed in reporting to Spring Training because of visa issues and is set for further ramp-up work in the minors. The Tigers added Michael Pineda on a one-year big league deal to assume the final rotation spot behind Eduardo Rodríguez, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. Pineda — held up by visa concerns of his own — consented to be optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open the year for more build-up time, giving Tyler Alexander the #5 spot for the season’s first couple weeks. Pineda tossed three innings for the Mud Hens yesterday, and Petzold notes he’s likely to make two more appearances there before being recalled to the majors.
  • The Twins made a last-minute addition to their rotation before Opening Day, acquiring Chris Paddack from the Padres in a deal that involved four MLB players changing hands. Minnesota already had a starting five of Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Chris Archer lined up, and manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) the Twins will roll with a six-man starting staff to open the season. Active rosters are expanded from 26 to 28 through April, giving teams flexibility to carry plenty of arms. Minnesota is also carrying top prospects Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran on the Opening Day roster, with both working in relief. Duran is expected to remain in that role (where he shined in two innings during his MLB debut this afternoon); Winder could be a rotation option down the line, and Baldelli said Winder could shoulder as much as five innings during an appearance out of the ’pen in the early going (Park link).

Every Team’s Initial September Callups

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The limit on active roster players expanded from 26 to 28 today, as the calendar flipped to September. Every team announced at least two additions to the big league club (some teams made three or more due to injured list placements). Here’s a recap of today’s spate of transactions:

Royals Outright Jake Newberry

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JUNE 11: The Royals announced that Newberry has cleared outright waivers. The 26-year-old doesn’t have the requisite service time to elect free agency, so he’ll report to Triple-A Omaha and attempt to work his way back onto the major league roster at some point this season.

JUNE 7: The Royals have designated right-hander Jake Newberry for assignment.  The move officially creates roster space for the promotion of pitching prospect Jackson Kowar, who will make his MLB debut today.  Kansas City also optioned righty Jakob Junis, as was reported yesterday.

Newberry has appeared in each of the last four seasons for Kansas City, and despite some shaky advanced metrics, managed to post a 4.07 ERA over 66 1/3 relief innings for the Royals from 2018-20.  Fortune turned on Newberry this season, however, as he was rocked for eight runs and a 16.62 ERA over 4 1/3 innings in 2021.

A 37th-round pick for the Royals in the 2012 draft, Newberry has worked almost exclusively as a reliever throughout his pro career, and he has posted some quality numbers in the minors.  Over 406 career innings in the K.C. farm system, Newberry has a 3.24 ERA and 22.3% strikeout rate.  Something of an extreme groundball pitcher earlier in his career, Newberry hasn’t translated that skill into the big leagues, with only a 34.5% grounder rate over 70 2/3 innings in the Show.

Royals To Select Jackson Kowar

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The Royals will call-up Jackson Kowar to start tomorrow night’s game against the Angels, manager Mike Matheny announced to reporters (including Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City). Jakob Junis will be optioned to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.

Selected with the 33rd overall pick of the 2018 draft (one spot ahead of fellow vaunted Royals rookie Daniel Lynch), Kowar is now regarded as one of the sport’s more promising pitching prospects. Entering this season, Baseball America ranked him as baseball’s #95 overall prospect and the #4 farmhand in the Kansas City organization. Keith Law of the Athletic also placed Kowar fourth in the system, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slots him eighth. All three outlets credit him with a potentially elite changeup and a mid-90s sinker. Whether Kowar will develop into an efficient strike-thrower figures to determine his ultimate role.

BA projects Kowar as a potential middle of the rotation starter, feeling he’ll develop “at least average control.” Law feels he could settle in at the back of a rotation if his command improves a bit in the coming seasons. Longenhagen, meanwhile, suggests he’s most likely to wind up in high-leverage relief, likening him to former Royal Ryan Madson. Regardless of the exact form it takes, public prospect forecasters all view Kowar as a potential noteworthy part of a pitching staff in some capacity.

Kowar has gotten off to a fantastic start in Omaha this year, his first taste of the minors’ top level. Through six starts, he’s worked to a 0.85 ERA in 31 2/3 frames, striking out a whopping 33.9% of opposing hitters while walking 8.3%. That strong showing has brought his career minor league ERA down to 3.10, slightly better than the 3.53 mark he managed over three seasons at the University of Florida.

He becomes the third of the Royals crop of well-regarded pitching prospects to make his MLB debut. Brady Singer, Kowar’s college teammate, reached the big leagues last season and has thrown 117 2/3 innings of 4.51 ERA/4.20 SIERA ball over his first 23 starts. Lynch was promoted on May 3, although he’s since been optioned back to Triple-A after giving up 15 runs in his first eight innings.

Junis, who moved to the bullpen when Lynch was selected, will head to Omaha to build back up as a starting pitcher, Worthy relays. Junis performed fairly well in the season’s first month while working out of the rotation, although he’s struggled in a relief role. His demotion will open an active roster spot for Kowar, but Kansas City will need to make another transaction before tomorrow’s game. The Royals 40-man roster is full, so a move is necessary to accommodate Kowar’s formal selection.

Even if Kowar sticks in the majors for good, he’ll be controllable through the end of the 2027 season. The early-June timing of his promotion makes it possible he’ll qualify for Super Two status, which would allow him to reach arbitration eligibility for the first time after 2023 (assuming the existing arbitration structure remains in the next collective bargaining agreement). Future optional assignments could change that trajectory.

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