Staumont has spent his entire career to date in the AL Central, pitching for the Royals from 2019-23 before spending the 2024 season with the Twins. The former Kansas City second-rounder showed some breakout potential early in his career when he pitched to a 2.93 ERA in his first 110 2/3 innings, punching out 27% of his opponents along the way. That ability to miss bats was keyed in large part by a fastball that sat north of 98 mph and often climbed into the triple digits.

Command troubles have long been an issue for Staumont, however, and his location issues were compounded by injury problems as his career progressed. He walked more than 15% of his opponents in 2022-23 while arm troubles limited him to 57 2/3 innings. His average heater “dipped” to a still-strong 96.2 mph. In 2023, Staumont was eventually diagnosed with symptoms concurrent with thoracic outlet syndrome. He underwent season-ending surgery that July.

The Twins signed Staumont to a one-year deal worth $950K last winter, hoping that he could recapture some of his early-career form. His bottom-line 3.70 ERA in 24 1/3 innings wasn’t bad by any means, but Staumont sat at a career-low 94.3 mph with his four-seamer and 95.1 mph with his sinker. His once-excellent strikeout rate fell to a well below-average 17.6%, and he walked a weighty 13.7% of his opponents. He was designated for assignment prior to the trade deadline and released in early August. Staumont signed a minor league deal with the Cubs but wasn’t called to the majors. He pitched in just two Triple-A games for the Cubs’ Iowa affiliate, facing nine batters and walking five of them.

At this point, Staumont is a project and depth piece for the Reds. He’ll need to regain velocity (or learn to succeed with diminished stuff) and scale back his increasingly worrisome walk rates if he’s to get back into his 2019-21 form. There’s no risk bringing him aboard on a minor league deal, however. He’ll compete for a spot in a bullpen that just added the former Royals closer for whom Staumont served as a setup man: Scott Barlow. Cincinnati’s bullpen will include Barlow, Alexis Diaz, Taylor Rogers, Sam Moll, Brent Suter and Tony Santillan, health permitting, but there should be at least a pair of relief jobs up for grabs this spring.

In either case, Staumont returns to the market just two weeks after signing with Chicago. The 30-year-old pitched twice for Chicago’s top affiliate in Iowa. He walked five batters while recording only three outs. Staumont had run a much more impressive 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 2/3 frames with the Twins’ top affiliate earlier in the season. He clearly did not have any kind of command in his very small sample in Iowa.

A former second-round pick of the Royals, Staumont pitched parts of five seasons with Kansas City. He posted an above-average 26.2% strikeout rate but walked more than 13% of batters faced through 168 1/3 innings. The Royals non-tendered him last winter. Staumont signed a big league deal with Minnesota that guaranteed him $950K. He made 25 appearances for the Twins, working to a 3.70 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. His walks remained high and his strikeout rate dropped sharply to 17.6%, so Minnesota cut him loose when they brought in Trevor Richards at the trade deadline.

Staumont’s camp can again look for minor league opportunities for the next few weeks. He’d need to sign with a team by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play with his new club, though that’s a secondary consideration to pitching his way back to the majors.

Staumont, 30, pitched to a solid 3.70 ERA in 24 1/3 frames with Minnesota prior to being cut loose, but his velocity was down considerably from peak levels and he managed that run-prevention mark in spite of a rough strikeout and walk rates. The now-former Twins and Royals right-hander fanned just 17.6% of his opponents — well below league-average and well below the 26.2% mark he carried into the season. The dip in strikeouts didn’t come with improved command, either. Staumont, who walked 13% of his opponents with the Royals between 2019-23, issued a free pass to 13.7% of his opponents with the Twins. His 5.06 SIERA casts a far less encouraging picture than his baseline ERA.

Even with sub-par command, Staumont at one point looked to be breaking out as a solid member of the Kansas City bullpen in 2020-21. The 2015 second-rounder pitched 91 1/3 innings out of the Royals’ bullpen between those two seasons and turned in a sharp 2.76 ERA with an impressive 29% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate. Staumont averaged better than 98 mph in 2020 and just shy of 97 mph in 2021. Injuries have since taken their toll, however. He’s missed time with biceps, knee, calf and a pair of neck injuries all since 2021, and his 2023 season ended when he underwent thoracic outlet surgery last summer.

The Twins inked Staumont to a one-year, $950K contract in free agency over the winter. They’re on the hook for the remainder of that sum, minus the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the Cubs’ big league roster (which would be paid by Chicago). If Staumont makes it up to the majors with the Cubs and impresses them, he’ll be eligible for arbitration once more this winter and could thus be retained through the 2025 season.

Staumont, 30, was a second-round pick by the Royals back in 2015 and made his big league debut for Kansas City back in 2019. He enjoyed a great deal of success out of the bullpen with the club early in his career with a sterling 2.93 ERA (159 ERA+) and a solid 3.95 FIP in 110 2/3 innings of work through the end of the 2021 season. He struck out a solid 26.7% of batters faced, though he struggled somewhat with throwing strikes as he walked 11.4% of batters faced. That lackluster command came back to bite him over his final two years with Kansas City, as he posted a brutal 6.09 ERA in 57 2/3 innings despite a 4.08 FIP that was largely similar to his previous efforts.

Staumont’s command was the clear culprit of these struggles as he saw his walk rate spike to 15.8% from 2022 to 2023 while his strikeout rate fell a tick to 25.3%. Those additional control woes may have been brought on by injury, however, as Staumont was limited to just 20 innings of work last year after undergoing surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in July of last year. The combination of injury and under-performance concerns led the Royals to non-tender Staumont last November, but he didn’t last long on the open market as the Twins snapped him up on a major league deal just before the new year.

The right-hander’s tenure in Minnesota was a fairly solid one. He posted a respectable 3.70 ERA with a 3.54 FIP in 24 1/3 innings of work for the Twins, though those overall numbers are somewhat inflated by a blow-up appearance against the Mets on July 29 where he surrendered five runs while recording just one out. Prior to that disastrous outing, Staumont boasted a sterling 1.88 ERA with a higher but still strong 3.17 FIP. That being said, Staumont’s peripheral numbers leave some room for concern about the sustainability of his success going forward. While he’s generating an impressive 47.7% groundball rate this year, his 13.7% walk rate is still quite high while no longer being balanced out by strong strikeout numbers as he’s struck out just 17.6% of opponents this year.

Even so, Staumont’s solid results and previous track record of success make it easy to imagine a club overlooking his shaky peripherals to offer him an opportunity in their organization, especially on a no-risk minor league deal. With the trade deadline now in the past, clubs are limited in their ability to make moves that bolster their depth and protect against injuries, and adding an accomplished veteran like Staumont who’s been squeezed off another club’s roster is often the best way to do that in the run-up to the end of the season.

• The Twins selected the contract of right-hander Randy Dobnak and designated Josh Staumont for assignment. Dobnak, 29, signed a five-year extension with Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following a strong start to his career where he posted a 3.12 ERA (142 ERA+) with a 3.56 FIP in 75 innings of work across 19 appearances (15 starts). Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well since he inked that deal as he struggled to a 7.64 ERA in 14 appearances in 2021 and hasn’t appeared in the majors since. He was outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster in September of 2022 but has put up a decent 3.61 ERA in 99 2/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year. Staumont, meanwhile, signed a big league deal with the club over the winter and has posted decent numbers with a 3.70 ERA and 3.53 FIP this year but has struggled badly in recent weeks with 11 runs (10 earned) surrendered in his last 5 1/3 innings of work.
• The Athletics selected the contract of right-hander Gerardo Reyes. The 31-year-old made his big league debut with the Padres back in 2019 but struggled to a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings of work. More recently, he’s pitched for the Angels in each of the past two seasons with a 6.94 ERA in ten appearances. Despite those lackluster numbers, he’s struck out a solid 27% of batters faced during his big league career and has a solid 3.82 ERA in 33 innings of work at the Triple-A level this year. He’ll step into the Oakland bullpen after the club dealt Lucas Erceg to Kansas City earlier today.
• The Blue Jays selected the contract of infielder Luis De Los Santos today in order to replace Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the active roster following his trade to Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old initially signed with the club out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015. He’s bounced between the Double- and Triple-A levels in recent years with a career .217/.342/.375 slash line at the highest level of the minors, although this year he’s managed to flash a bit more offense with a solid .243/.393/.400 line and 16.7% walk rate in 28 games. The youngster has experience at all four infield spots and figures to step into the club’s bench mix.
• The Red Sox designated right-hander Trey Wingenter for assignment today. Wingenter was acquired by Boston earlier this month in a trade with the Tigers after he triggered an assignment clause in his contract, prompting the club to add him to their 40-man roster. Wingenter made just two appearances for the Red Sox and struggled badly in each of them, allowing a combined seven runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of work. Prior to that rough tenure in Boston, Wingenter had a career 5.28 ERA and 3.82 FIP in 90 games with the Padres and Tigers. His career 31.9% strikeout rate stands out from his otherwise lackluster results and could garner him some interest from bullpen-needy clubs on the waiver wire.
• The White Sox selected the contract of left-hander Fraser Ellard today. Ellard, 26, was an 8th-round pick by the club back in 2021 and climbed the minor league ladder to reach the Triple-A level this year. In 40 2/3 innings of work this season, Ellard owns a 3.76 ERA with an eye-popping 33.5% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.6% walk rate. That big-time strikeout stuff should get Ellard plenty of opportunities in a Chicago bullpen that has been brutally bad this year with a collective 4.79 ERA, including a league-worst 6.22 ERA in the month of July. He’ll step into the lefty spot in the bullpen vacated by Tanner Banks earlier today, joining fellow southpaws Jared Shuster and Sammy Peralta.

12:04pm: The Twins announced that right-hander Josh Staumont has been signed to a one-year deal, and the Athletic’s Dan Hayes (X link) reports that Staumont will earn slightly less than $1MM.  Staumont was projected to earn a $1.7MM arbitration salary this winter, but the Royals designated him for assignment in November and he elected free agency rather than an accept an outright assignment. Staumont is represented by Excel Sports Management.

The righty dominated Twins hitters to the tune of an 0.90 ERA over 20 career innings against Minnesota, so the Twins have seen plenty of Staumont over his five seasons in Kansas City.  The results were pretty good overall for Staumont in his first three seasons, as he posted a 2.93 ERA and 26.7% strikeout over 110 2/3 relief innings from 2019-21.  However, a 4.07 SIERA, .268 BABIP, and an 11.4% walk rate in that same stretch hinted that some regression was coming, and Staumont’s luck turned over the last two seasons.

Staumont has a 6.09 ERA over 57 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2023, with an ungainly 15.9% walk rate contributing to his issues.  Injuries played a role in both tough seasons, yet Staumont’s chief concern is now getting healthy after a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last July.  The exact nature of Staumont’s TOS procedure isn’t known, and given how the treatment is still relatively new, there isn’t yet a lengthy track record of pitchers who returned from TOS surgeries to pitch effectively at the big league level.

Minnesota obviously felt good enough about Staumont’s recovery to give him a big league contract, and it could be a long-term play since Staumont is arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season.  If Staumont is able to recover and get back to his early-career form, he could be a very nice low-cost add for the Twins bullpen (and from an AL Central rival, no less).  The deal is also a nice late birthday present for Staumont, who just turned 30 last week.

The Twins haven’t done much beyond a few minor league signings this offseason, as the club may still be figuring how to balance both payroll cuts and a sturdy defense of its AL Central title.  A low-cost and low-risk signing like Staumont may not be a huge factor in Minnesota’s spending plans since adding inexpensive and potentially high-upside relief pitching is standard business for any team, yet naturally these are the types of deals that can pay particularly big dividends for lower-payroll teams.

Onto the transactions…

Latest Moves

• Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Rays non-tendered righty Cooper Criswell. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday.
• The Mariners announced this evening that the club has non-tendered first baseman Mike Ford. Ford hit well (.228/.323/.475) in 83 games with Seattle this season but had already been designated for assignment earlier this week.
• The Yankees announced this evening that the club has non-tendered right-handers Albert Abreu and Lou Trivino in addition to left-hander Anthony Misiewicz. Trivino didn’t pitch in the majors this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in May. Abreu pitched to a 4.73 ERA and 5.26 FIP across 59 innings of work while Misiewicz posted a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings of work for the Diamondbacks, Yankees, and Tigers.
• The Twins have non-tendered left-hander Jovani Moran and right-hander Ronny Henriquez, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Moran finished the season on the injured list and, per Hayes, will require Tommy John surgery this offseason. Henriquez did not appear in the majors this year and struggled to a 5.68 ERA in 37 appearances at the Triple-A level.
• The Angels announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Jose Marte. Marte had gotten brief looks out of Anaheim’s bullpen across the past three seasons but struggled to a 8.14 ERA in 24 1/3 combined innings of work over those cups of coffee.
• The Red Sox have non-tendered right-hander Wyatt Mills, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Mills, 28, did not appear in the big leagues this year and underwent Tommy John surgery over the summer.

Earlier Moves

• The Rangers announced this evening that they have non-tendered right-hander Matt Bush and left-hander Brett Martin. Bush, 37, struggled to a 9.58 ERA with the Brewers this year and did not make an appearance with Texas. Martin missed the entire 2023 campaign with shoulder issues.
• The Royals announced this evening that they have non-tendered outfielder Diego Hernandez, left-hander Austin Cox, catcher Logan Porter and right-hander Josh Staumont. All but Hernandez had already been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week. Hernandez has yet to appear in the majors during his career and slashed .245/.302/.291 in 60 games at the Double-A level this season.
• The Athletics announced today that they did not tender a contract to infielder Kevin Smith. Smith joined the club in the trade that sent Matt Chapman to Toronto and slashed just .182/.218/.314 in 297 trips to the plate with Oakland over the last two seasons.
• The Blue Jays are expected to non-tender right-hander Adam Cimber this evening, per Ari Alexander of Houston’s KPRC-2. A veteran of six MLB seasons, the 32-year-old Cimber struggled badly in 2023 with a 7.40 ERA in 22 appearances despite a strong 2.53 ERA in 149 appearances with Toronto between 2021 and 2022.

Klein, 24 later this month, was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft. On his way up the minors leagues, he has racked up plenty of strikeouts and ground balls but has also given out batches of walks. In 2023, he pitched 64 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.62 earned run average. He struck out 30.5% of opponents in that time but also walked 12.8% of them and kept about 45% of balls in play on the ground at both levels.

Gentry, 25 in February, was selected in the third round of the 2020 draft. As he has ascended towards the majors, he has shown an ability to put the ball over the fence as well as take a walk. He spent all of 2023 at the Triple-A level, hitting 16 homers, walking in 14.2% of his plate appearances and also stealing 14 bases. His .253/.370/.421 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 103. He’s not considered an especially strong defender but has a chance to become a regular option in a corner based on his bat.

Baseball America considers Gentry to be the club’s #9 prospect and has Klein in the #22 spot. The two of them will give the club some optionable depth going forward and should be battling for their respective major league debuts by Spring Training.

But their gain is a loss for a couple of other players. Staumont, 30 next month, was a second-round pick in 2015 and had some success in his first tastes of the majors but has hit some speed bumps of late. He made 106 appearances from 2019 to 2021 with an ERA of 2.93 but a 6.09 in the past two years, walking 15.9% of batters in that latter timeframe.

In July, he underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, making his path forward uncertain. He made a salary of $1.025MM in 2023 and would have been due a raise via arbitration in 2024, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a modest bump to $1.2MM, but it seems the Royals didn’t want to bring him back at that price point.

Porter, 28, was just added to the club’s roster in September as they were dealing with injuries to catchers Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. It seems they didn’t have him in their long-term plans, as he’s now been bumped off the roster. He had a strong season in 2022, hitting .301/.442/.476 in the minors for a wRC+ of 145, but that line fell to .232/.339/.377 at Triple-A in 2023.

The Royals will have one week to trade or outright both players. Staumont has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

JULY 14: The Royals announced today that left-hander Ángel Zerpa was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Omaha. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, right-hander Josh Staumont was sent the other way, transferred to the 60-day IL.

Staumont, 29, has been on the injured list since June 6 due to a neck strain. A couple of weeks ago, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported that he suffered a setback and would require further testing. His current timeline isn’t known, but he’ll now be officially ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which rules him out until early August. He’s yet to begin a rehab assignment, so it doesn’t seem like he’s especially close to returning anyhow. The righty has an ERA of 4.01 in his career, striking out 26.2% of batters faced but walking 13%.

Zerpa, 23, suffered a shoulder injury during Spring Training and has been on the injured list for the entire season until this point. He was able to collect major league pay and service time for the past few months, crossing over the one-year mark in the process, but that will stop for the time being. He has 16 innings of major league experience from the previous two seasons with a 1.13 ERA in that small sample.

He was stretched out as a starter during his recent rehab assignment and will provide the club with some rotation depth. He has just one option year remaining and will burn that last option as soon as he spends 20 days on optional assignment here in 2023. If he’s not quickly recalled in the next few weeks, he’ll be out of options in 2024.

Greinke last took the mound on Sunday but came out of his start against the Rays after four innings due to forearm discomfort. How severe the issue is remains unclear, but it’s worrisome enough the Royals will keep him out of action for at least the next two weeks. It comes at an unfortunate time, as Greinke had allowed only three earned runs in 16 1/3 innings over his most recent three starts. Of course, with the Royals near the bottom of the American League standings and looking ahead to 2023, there’s little reason for Greinke and the club not to exercise caution with any arm issues.

Signed to a one-year, $13MM guarantee over the offseason, Greinke has made 21 starts during his second stint in Kansas City. He owns a 4.14 ERA through 108 2/3 innings despite a career-low 13.7% strikeout rate. The 38-year-old no longer throws hard or misses many bats, but he retains elite command and has provided the club with generally solid back-of-the-rotation production. He’ll again hit the free agent market this winter.

Staumont has had a very inconsistent 2022 campaign. Long considered one of the organization’s top pitching prospects, Staumont looked to have settled in as a quality late-game reliever over the prior two seasons. Between 2020-21, he tossed 90 1/3 innings of 2.76 ERA ball while striking out 29% of batters faced. As he had throughout his minor league career, he struggled to throw strikes at times, but his power arsenal was on full display.

He’d remained generally effective through the first few months of this season, working to a 3.67 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout percentage through the All-Star Break. Things have gone completely off the rails in the second half, however, as he’s been tagged for 16 runs with 11 strikeouts and walks apiece in 10 2/3 innings over his past 12 outings. Staumont will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter and is controllable through 2025.

Misiewicz is now in position to make his team debut. Acquired from the Mariners at the start of the month, he was promptly optioned to Omaha. He’s allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings there since the trade, striking out seven with just one walk. The left-hander had made 104 MLB appearances with Seattle over the past three seasons, working to a 4.48 ERA over 88 1/3 frames.

10:41am: With just under seven hours until the deadline, the Royals could be an important factor. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the markets for outfielder Michael A. Taylor, as well as relievers Josh Staumont and Scott Barlow are “heating up.”

The fact that the Royals are discussing trading away pieces of their major league roster is not surprising, given their place in the standings. They are 41-62 on the year and well out of contention. The question now is how much selling they’re willing to do. They’ve already traded Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees, though he was a pure rental, heading into free agency at the end of the year. The three players mentioned by Feinsand all come with extra control and don’t strictly need to be traded, though there would be reasons to consider offers on all three.

In the case of Taylor, he was headed into free agency this time last year but signed a two-year extensions to stay in KC. That means the Royals could keep him around for the 2023 campaign, but he’s having the best season of his career at the plate. His .280/.352/.395 slash line amounts to a 114 wRC+, or 14% above league average. In each of the previous four seasons, he was between 71 and 77 in that department. He’s also dropped his strikeout rate and increased his walk rate relative to previous seasons, suggesting that his better production is a result of an improved approach at the plate as opposed to mere luck.

He’s also making a modest $4.5MM salary this year, though with some incentives that could increase that number. Still, with only about one third of the season remaining, any acquiring team would be adding less than $2MM to their ledger. That’s a small price to pay for a guy hitting at an above-average level. Of course, Taylor’s primary calling card is his defense and the center field market has been notoriously thin. Teams have been trying to acquire guys like Bryan Reynolds, Cedric Mullins and Ramon Laureano for quite some time, without success so far. Perhaps that will allow the Royals to get an offer good enough that they take and allow Kyle Isbel to take over in center field.

As for Barlow and Staumont, they both come with multiple years of control, with Barlow set to reach free agency after the 2024 season and Staumont one year later. However, relief pitching is always in high demand this time of year, with just about every contender looking to bolster their bullpen with an intriguing arm or two. The Royals can certainly opt for hanging onto them for future seasons, but relievers are also notoriously subject to fluctuations from season to season. If the offers are good enough, the Royals could give some thought to taking what’s in front of them before either pitcher suffers an injury or a dip in performance.

For now, though, both are having good seasons and would find plenty of interest from rival teams. Barlow is having his fourth straight solid season but has changed his results this year, getting fewer strikeouts and more ground balls. From 2019 through 2021, Barlow threw 174 2/3 innings with a 3.45 ERA, 30% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 40.8% ground ball rate. This year, he has a 2.36 ERA while getting strikeouts just 24% of the time but grounders at a 50.4% clip while also cutting his walk rate to 6.5%. All that’s come while pitching in high-leverage situations, as Barlow racked up 16 saves last year and 17 already this year. He’s making $2.4MM on the year and has two more passes through arbitration to go. Considering all of that, it’s unsurprising he’s in high demand around the league.

Staumont isn’t quite at Barlow’s level but is still interesting nonetheless. Since debuting in 2019, he’s thrown 141 1/3 MLB innings with a 3.18 ERA and 26.5% strikeout rate. His 12.5% walk rate and 33.6% grounder rate are both worse than league average, but he’s still plenty effective. He won’t reach arbitration until this winter, meaning he could fit into the budget of any team and would still have three years of control remaining.

All three of these players have reasons for other teams to be interested, the question will be how much the Royals are willing to part with them. The club has had aspirations for competing in recent years but hasn’t yet succeeded. Trading any of these three could hurt the roster in the immediate future but would also likely add prospects that could help a few years down the line.

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.

Let’s take a spin around the Midwest and see what shakes loose…

• Carlos Martinez is probably done for the year, per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver (via Twitter). Wade LeBlanc is also questionable to return after feeling some elbow pain in his latest bullpen. If Martinez’s season is truly over, it will have been a disappointing one for the one-time Cardinal ace. Martinez owns a 6.23 ERA over 82 1/3 innings. A 4.76 FIP suggests it might not have quite been the disaster season that those baseline numbers suggest, however.
• While we’re here, we might as well check in with Jack Flaherty, who is also questionable to return this season. The Cardinals are putting him through a series of assessments now. What matters most is making sure he’s healthy for 2022, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Same story for Ryan Helsley, who will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and look ahead to next season.
• The Tigers released Renato Nunez, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter). Manager A.J. Hinch suggested that there weren’t enough at-bats to go around in Triple-A for Spencer Torkelson, Aderlin Rodriguez, and Nunez. The Tigers outrighted Nunez a few days ago, and he will now be free to sign anywhere.

Players can be placed on the injured list for Covid-19 related reasons — a positive test, close contact with someone who was positive, or self-reported symptoms — and briefly be removed from the 40-man roster while on the IL. Staumont has obviously been cleared to return in a day’s time, which suggests there was no positive test. However, the Royals also selected the contract of veteran righty Ervin Santana last night, so with Staumont now coming back onto the active roster, they needed a 40-man spot. Heath’s DFA will provide that roster spot.

Heath, 27, made his MLB debut in 2020 and went 2-for-13 with a double and a pair of steals in four tries. He’s not a particularly imposing threat at the plate, evidenced by a .266/.348/.361 batting line in four minor league seasons, but Heath is one of the fastest players in professional ball. Scouting reports at FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball America peg him at either 70- or 80-grade speed on the 20-80 scale. He’s swiped 160 bases in 200 tries (80 percent) through just 323 total minor league games.

Heath can play all three outfield spots and has a full slate of three minor league options remaining, so he could certainly intrigue another club in a minor trade or in the event that the Royals try to pass him through outright waivers. Kansas City will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers.

Santana pitched for five big league teams, including the Royals, from 2005-19, and typically produced solid results while eating up a significant number of innings. The 38-year-old has six seasons of 200-plus innings under his belt, 2,421 in total, as well as a 4.09 ERA. While with the Royals in 2013, he fired 211 innings of 3.24 ERA ball, though Santana then rejected KC’s qualifying offer and went through a prolonged stay in free agency before signing with the Braves.

Santana lasted just one year in Atlanta before joining Minnesota, with which he delivered quality seasons in 2016-17. However, a middle finger injury limited Santana to five starts, 24 2/3 innings and an ugly 8.03 ERA. He continued to struggle during his most recent action, as he recorded a 9.45 ERA in three starts and 13 1/3 frames as a member of the White Sox. Santana finished the year in the Mets organization, but he didn’t pitch for them that season, and he sat out 2020 before signing a minors pact with the Royals.

Santana has started in 384 of 387 appearances, though it remains to be seen which role he’ll fill now. Notably, Royals starters have put up a 5.56 ERA – the sixth-worst mark in baseball.