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Maikel Garcia

Maikel Garcia Undergoes Surgery To Remove Bone Spur From Elbow

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Royals infielder Maikel Garcia underwent surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow, tweets Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. Kansas City hasn’t announced whether the injury is expected to impact his readiness for Spring Training.

Garcia had been set to play winter ball in his native Venezuela. He revealed in an X post over the weekend that he was instead headed back to Kansas City for x-rays. It’s unclear when he suffered the injury, as he didn’t spend any time on the IL this year.

The 24-year-old appeared in 157 regular season games and all six postseason contests. Matt Quatraro penciled him in at third base and atop the batting order on most nights. The Jonathan India acquisition means Garcia will no longer be slated for leadoff work. Depending on how the Royals intend to use India and incumbent second baseman Michael Massey, Garcia still projects as the starting third baseman.

Garcia didn’t make much of an offensive impact. He hit .231/.281/.332 with seven homers across 626 plate appearances. While he’s best suited in the bottom third of a lineup, he has a strong secondary profile. Garcia stole 37 bases in 39 attempts and graded as one of the league’s best overall baserunners. He’s also a quality defender. Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved each felt he was three runs better than average in a little more than 1000 innings at third base.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com wrote a few weeks ago that the Royals had gotten a few calls about Garcia’s availability. He came up as a shortstop prospect and only moved to third base in deference to Bobby Witt Jr. Kansas City certainly isn’t moving him back to shortstop barring an injury to Witt, but a team like the Braves or Giants could view him as an upgrade at the position. There’s nothing to suggest the Royals were seriously inclined to move Garcia, whom they control for five more seasons. The elbow surgery, even if it’s a minor procedure, makes a deal less likely.

Royals Have Shown Interest In Alec Bohm, Taylor Ward

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The Royals have reportedly spoken to the Reds about a trade involving Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer and Cincinnati infielder Jonathan India, but that’s just one of multiple pursuits for Royals general manager J.J. Picollo, it seems. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that while no deals are necessarily close as of this moment, the Royals have also spoken to the Phillies about third baseman Alec Bohm and to the Angels about outfielder Taylor Ward. Like India, both Bohm and Ward are right-handed bats with multiple seasons of club control remaining.

Bohm, 28, was the No. 3 overall pick back in 2018 and has settled in as a regular at third base in Philadelphia over the past four-plus seasons. He’s coming off an uneven 2024 season in which he was one of the game’s most productive hitters in April but followed it with five months of effectively league-average production. On the whole, he turned in a .280/.332/.448 batting line (115 wRC+). Over the past three seasons, Bohm has combined for a .278/.325/.427 slash, demolishing left-handed pitching along the way but producing at a roughly average clip against fellow righties.

Given his excellent bat-to-ball skills — 14.2% strikeout rate in 2024; 15.7% dating back to 2022 — Bohm is a sensible target for a Royals club that places a heavy emphasis on putting the ball in play. Kansas City had baseball’s third-lowest strikeout rate in 2024, and since 2021 only five teams have posted a lower collective strikeout rate than the Royals. Plugging Bohm in as a regular at third base would provide an offensive upgrade over slick-fielding Maikel Garcia, who’s arguably better suited as a utilityman, given his defensive chops.

Speaking of glovework, however, Bohm is something of a mixed bag on that front. The Royals have typically prioritized plus defenders in addition to their affinity for contact-oriented bats. Bohm has typically graded out as a poor defender at the hot corner, but he posted career-best marks in Defensive Runs Saved (0) and Outs Above Average (4) in 2024. If the Royals believe those gains can be sustained, he’d make all the more sense as a trade target.

Bohm is controlled for another two seasons. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $8.1MM in his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility in 2025. It’s a generally reasonable rate that shouldn’t be cumbersome, even for a mid-level payroll club like Kansas City. While the Royals have in-house options at third base (Garcia) and at second base (Michael Massey), their interest in India and Bohm suggests a desire to add at least one bat to that infield mix. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and, of course, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. aren’t going to be displaced, leaving second base or third base as the likely positions to be upgraded.

For the Phillies, trading Bohm wouldn’t be so much about shedding salary or moving on from an unproductive player as it would reimagining an offense that hasn’t gotten them over the hump in recent postseason trips. Bohm has hit well with men on base in recent seasons (hence consecutive 97 RBI campaigns) but offers average power and stark platoon splits. The Phillies, meanwhile, don’t have ample pathways to pursuing upgrades in the lineup. First base (Bryce Harper), shortstop (Trea Turner), designated hitter (Kyle Schwarber), catcher (J.T. Realmuto) and right field (Nick Castellanos) are all manned by expensive veterans. Third base (Bohm), second base (Bryson Stott) and the other two outfield spots (combination of Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas and Austin Hays) are the primary areas where president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski can look to bring about some form of change.

As for Ward, he’s an on-paper trade candidate for an Angels club that just finished dead last in the American League West. However, owner Arte Moreno and GM Perry Minasian have both expressed a desire to put forth a competitive club next winter. Ward, coming off a .246/.323/.426 (111 wRC+) showing in 2024 and a .259/.338/.440 line (118 wRC+) since 2021, is seemingly a part of that vision. Few outsiders see a path to contention for the ’25 Angels, but the team’s actions thus far — trading for Jorge Soler and signing Travis d’Arnaud, Kyle Hendricks and Kevin Newman — suggest that they’re more focused on adding than on subtracting.

As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored last month, there’s a scenario where the Angels move Ward and still make an effort to compete. Ward could be flipped for rotation help — a potential match with the Royals — or traded for younger talent, with the Angels reallocating his would-be salary to other areas of need. Swartz projects Ward for a $9.2MM salary in 2025, which isn’t unreasonable for a player of his ability but also isn’t a raucous bargain. The Royals could plug Ward into left field, providing a stark upgrade over MJ Melendez, and pair him with defensive standout Kyle Isbel in center and rebound hopeful Hunter Renfroe in right field.

There’s no telling just yet how it’ll all shake out, but it seems Kansas City is quite active on the trade front at the moment. In addition to the bats they’ve targeted, the Royals have received interest from other clubs in each of the aforementioned Garcia, Singer, right-hander Alec Marsh and left-hander Kris Bubic. Picollo and his staff seemingly have plenty of potential concepts to explore, with the end goal of bolstering a currently top-heavy lineup a fairly obvious priority.

Royals Notes: Lineup Needs, Outfield, Wacha, Frazier

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Royals brass held their end-of-season press conference today, with general manager J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro fielding questions from MLB.com’s Anne Rogers (two links) and other reporters about the club’s successful 2024 campaign and some of their plans for the coming offseason.

While Picollo described the Royals’ offense as “acceptable” overall, the team is looking for bookends around the powerful 2-3-4 lineup combination of Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez.  The Royals relied heavily on that trio for most of their offense, and thus finding a more consistent leadoff hitter and no. 5 hitter are the first steps in increasing production.

Picollo noted that impending free agent Tommy Pham did a good job in stabilizing the leadoff spot after Pham was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals at the end of August.  In general, however, “that leadoff spot, we were circulating guys all year long, trying to find the right person….Every lineup, and the better lineups that we faced, they’re deep,” Picollo said.  “The more you can push guys down, the better our lineup will be. You start with a leadoff man, and then you try to find somebody in the middle of the lineup, as well.  The deeper you get, the more explosive you can be as an offense.”

Kansas City batters had a collective .306 on-base percentage this season, ranking 19th of 30 teams.  Witt’s .389 OBP did a lot of the heavy lifting on that cumulative total, as Yuli Gurriel (in only 65 plate appearances) ranked second on the team with a .338 OBP, followed by Perez at .330.  Maikel Garcia had the majority of at-bats out of the leadoff spot and his strong third base defense kept him in the lineup, but he hit only .231/.281/.332 over 626 PA.  Garcia’s 69 wRC+ was the lowest of any qualified hitter in baseball this season.

Despite Garcia’s lack of production, Picollo said Garcia and left fielder MJ Melendez (who also struggled) will be counted to improve at the plate as they head into their fourth Major League campaigns.  However, Picollo singled out the outfield as a natural area where the Royals could add some power and more offense in general, as only the Pirates and White Sox got less production from their outfielders in 2024 than the 79 wRC+ posted by Kansas City’s outfield mix.

“Generally speaking, when you’re looking at left field, right field, that’s where you’re thinking about power guys,” Picollo said.  “And we know this ballpark doesn’t lend itself to homers, but it does lend itself to slug.  So we’ve got to be more productive there.  And that’s where being optimistic about some of the guys that we have and looking at the experience they had, I think that’s fine.”

Right field is the most logical target area if Hunter Renfroe declines his $7.5MM player option for 2025, though Picollo said he hadn’t yet spoken to Renfroe about his upcoming decision.  Renfroe can take a $1MM buyout and return to free agency, but it probably seems likelier than Renfroe will take the larger $7.5MM payday after a sub-replacement season.  Renfroe had a -0.1 fWAR over 120 games with Kansas City, hitting .229/.297/.392 with 15 home runs, and he sandwiched a red-hot stretch in June and July between ice-cold performances in the first two and final two months of the regular season.

Kyle Isbel was also a below-average hitter but at least played some solid defense in center field, so he might have the most job security of all Royals outfielders heading into 2025.  If K.C. did indeed pick up a new corner outfielder or two, Renfroe, Melendez, Dairon Blanco, and Nelson Velazquez could all be vying for part-time or bench duty, or the Royals could look to move any to create roster space.

On the pitching end, Michael Wacha will have to decide on either exercising or declining his $16MM player option for the 2025 season.  Wacha’s excellent changeup powered his 3.35 ERA over 166 2/3 innings in his first season with the Royals, and induced a ton of soft contact while posting an above-average 6.6% walk rate.  Though his lack of strikeouts and velocity will always limit his market to some extent, Wacha has now posted very solid results in each of the last three seasons, and should certainly find a multi-year pact again on the open market this year.

Even if the likelihood is that Wacha does pass on his option, Picollo said “there’s no question we’d like to have him back.  How we go about that, I’m not sure just yet….He’s going to have opportunities with other clubs.  So we’ll work on that.”

The Royals aim to add more pitching with or without Wacha still in the rotation, though obviously it will be a more glaring need if Wacha does head elsewhere.  Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Brady Singer still combine for a nice top three and Alec Marsh earned himself a rotation job, so on paper Kansas City would have plenty of internal candidates to compete for just one open starting job.  But as Picollo noted, “we were remarkably healthy this year,” so the club expects to need more pitching in the likely even that the Royals aren’t as lucky in avoiding the injury bug.

As to how much the Royals will have to spend for any upgrade, Picollo was naturally unspecific on the topic, but he felt owner John Sherman would have as much “flexibility” with the payroll as last winter.  “I would suspect it would be very similar,” the GM said.  “Not necessarily in, ’We’re going to spend $100 million,’ but more so his flexibility, him being open-minded to what our team’s needs are.”

RosterResource estimates that the Royals finished the year with a payroll of slightly more than $113.5MM, which represents the franchise’s biggest spend since its $122.2MM payroll on Opening Day 2018.  An increase in attendance and two playoff games should boost revenue, but the Royals are also one of the teams whose broadcast deals with Diamond Sports Group will be severed as part of DSG’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

It remains to be seen if the Royals could work out a new deal with DSG/Bally Sports for the 2025 season or if the team might seek out another broadcast partner, or pursue an agreement with Major League Baseball itself to broadcast games (as six other clubs have done).  While obviously a lot of uncertainty exists here, it should be noted that the Royals’ previous deal with Bally was already up after the 2025 season, and the team still went ahead and had a relatively big spending splurge last winter even with the looming questions about its broadcast future.

In some injury updates, Hunter Harvey, James McArthur, and Chris Stratton should all be ready for the start of Spring Training after finishing the season on the injured list.  Some health uncertainty awaits Adam Frazier, who will be undergoing some type of procedure on his right thumb this week.

Frazier had a minimal 10-day IL stint in late June/early July due to a sprain in that same thumb, and an injury could explain his rough hitting numbers, as the veteran batted only .202/.282/.294 in 294 PA.  Kansas City is sure to decline its end of an $8.5MM mutual option on Frazier for 2025, and he’ll be bought out for $2.5MM.  Between his down year and perhaps this surgery impacting his readiness, Frazier may have to settle for a minor league pact in free agency.

Kyle Isbel To Miss Six Weeks With Grade 2 Hamstring Strain

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The Royals announced some roster moves earlier today, with outfielder Kyle Isbel going on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain and left-hander Austin Cox optioned to Triple-A. Those roster spots were taken by infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton and right-hander Jonathan Heasley, both of them getting recalled from Omaha. Manager Matt Quatraro tells Anne Rogers of MLB.com that Isbel has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will be sidelined for six weeks.

Isbel, 26, was a third round pick in the 2018 draft and has been considered one of the club’s top prospects in recent years. Baseball America had him in the top 10 among Royal farmhands for four years straight beginning in 2019. He reached the majors in 2021 and has had roughly a full season’s worth of playing time since then, getting into 160 games with 457 plate appearances.

He hasn’t been able to contribute much at the plate in that time, currently sporting a batting line of .222/.274/.359 for a wRC+ of 73. He’s struck out in 25.6% of his trips to the plate and walked in just 5.9% of them. He has been able to contribute in other ways, however. He’s played all three outfield positions and has accrued +16 Defensive Runs Saved, +14 Outs Above Average and a 9.1 grade from Ultimate Zone Rating. When combined with his 13 stolen bases, he’s been worth 1.3 wins above replacement, even with that tepid offensive production. Any kind of step forward at the plate would make him a solid everyday player.

Unfortunately, he’ll now have to miss the next few weeks with this injury, which is unfortunate timing. Despite his lack of offense this year, he may have been able to continue getting regular playing time. The Royals traded Michael A. Taylor this winter, seemingly at least partially motivated as a way to clear a path for Drew Waters to get everyday playing time in center field. But Waters suffered an oblique strain in February and has been on the injured list all year. He was set to start a rehab assignment this week but it was recently reported that some lower back tightness has put those plans on pause. That could have allowed Isbel continued reps at the position but he’ll now have to join Waters on the IL instead.

The Royals will now have to figure out how to proceed up the middle without either of those two. Quatraro tells Rogers that Jackie Bradley Jr. and Nate Eaton will be the primary options with Maikel Garcia in the mix as well. Bradley is an excellent defender but has been one of the worst hitters in the majors in recent years, including a tepid .156/.255/.200 showing this season. Eaton is primarily an infielder but has some time on the grass, while Garcia has only played infield thus far in his career.

Royals To Promote Maikel Garcia, Place Nicky Lopez On Injured List

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2:10pm: The Royals have now announced the Garcia and Lopez moves. Additionally, Franmil Reyes was optioned to Omaha while Freddy Fermin was recalled. Once a middle-of-the-order threat, Reyes has fallen on hard times in recent years. He’s slashing just .186/.231/.288 here in 2023.

11:14am: The Royals are set to recall infield prospect Maikel Garcia, one of the top minor leaguers in their system, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). He’ll take the roster spot of fellow infielder Nicky Lopez, who’s headed to the injured list due to appendicitis. That’s likely just a portion of a larger slate of roster moves for the Royals today, she adds.

Garcia made his big league debut as a 22-year-old last season but appeared in just nine games, batting .318/.348/.364 in a tiny sample of 23 plate appearances. He’s had a slow start to the season in Triple-A Omaha, where he’s turned in a .242/.348/.347 slash with a homer, seven doubles, four steals, a 14.3% walk rate and a 19.6% strikeout rate.

Widely regarded among the Royals’ top six prospects, Garcia lands third in their system at MLB.com, sixth at Baseball America and fifth on Keith Law’s list at The Athletic. He’s regarded as an above-average defender at shortstop with good bat-to-ball skills and solid plate discipline. Law opines that “if Garcia had even average power, he’d be a top-100 prospect” thanks to the strength of his other tools and his ability to handle multiple spots around the infield.

While Garcia has had a slow start in Omaha this year, he posted a more impressive .274/.341/.463 slash there in 186 plate appearances last year. He spent the rest of the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, and between the two levels he’s turned in a .285/.359/.427 with 11 homers, 34 doubles, a triple and a hearty 39 steals (in 47 tries).

Even absent an IL trip from Lopez, it’s not a surprise to see the Royals shuffling their infield mix. None of second baseman Michael Massey (.167/.173/.179, 81 plate appearances), third baseman Hunter Dozier (.161/.212/.226, 66 plate appearances) or shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (.222/.266/.393, 124  plate appearances) has performed well at the plate so far in 2023. Garcia provides an option at any of those spots if the Royals want to make an early change. (Presumably, Witt has the longest leash given the high regard in which he’s held and a generally strong debut campaign in 2022.)

Like Massey, Dozier and Witt, the 28-year-old Lopez has also gotten out to a sluggish start in 2023. Through his first 67 plate appearances, the slick-fielding Lopez carries just a .200/.323/.291 batting line. The entire Kansas City offense has been anemic in 2023, with first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, outfielder Edward Olivares and catcher Salvador Perez as the only regulars turning in even average offensive output on the year. (First baseman Nick Pratto and utilityman Matt Duffy have hit well, too, albeit in much smaller samples. Given the struggles up and down the lineup, it stands to reason that if Garcia is able to produce at the plate, the Royals will find a way to work him into the mix moving forward.

Royals Option Nick Pratto, Maikel Garcia

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The Royals announced Wednesday that they’ve optioned first baseman Nick Pratto, infielder Maikel Garcia and catcher Freddy Fermin to Triple-A Omaha.

Pratto, 24, will return for a third stint at a Triple-A level where he’s previously turned in a .241/.368/.528 batting line while hitting 38 home runs in 644 plate appearances. He had a strong showing this spring, batting .313/.378/.438 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a 13-to-4 K/BB ratio in 37 plate appearances. Pratto made his MLB debut in 2022, hitting .184/.271/.386 in 182 plate appearances. That said, he’s a former first-round pick (No. 14 in 2017) who entered the 2022 season as a consensus top-100 prospect. The Royals surely still view him as a potential long-term piece.

The presence of Vinnie Pasquantino at first base stands as a roadblock for Pratto, though heading into camp it was feasible that Pratto and Pasquantino would share the workloads at first base and designated hitter. At least in the early stages of the 2023 season, that won’t be the case, but Pratto’s demotion doesn’t necessarily indicate he’s in for a lengthy stay in Omaha. A strong early showing could put him right back in the big league plans. For the time being, it seems as though the Royals will use the DH spot to get at-bats for a number of players, including hot-hitting catcher/outfielder MJ Melendez.

The fact that Fermin was optioned out in spite of a .273/.360/.545 showing in 25 plate appearances seemingly indicates indication that Salvador Perez and Melendez will be the only catchers on the roster to begin the season. Fermin is the only other catcher on the Royals’ 40-man roster, although non-roster invitees Jakson Reetz and Jose Briceno are still in camp and could potentially be selected to the MLB roster.

Fermin, 27, made his big league debut in 2022 but appeared in just three games. He spent the bulk of the season in Omaha, where he batted .270/.365/.480 with 17 doubles and 15 homers in 348 plate appearances. At some point, it’s feasible to think the Royals could go with three catchers, allowing Melendez to log more time in the outfield and/or at designated hitter, but Fermin will head to Triple-A to begin the season.

Garcia, 23, is also being sent out despite a strong showing in Cactus League play. He’s posted a .355/.375/.516 showing with a homer, two doubles and two steals in 32 plate appearances. He split the bulk of the 2022 season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .285/.359/.427 and logging regular work at shortstop. With Bobby Witt Jr., Nicky Lopez, Michael Massey, Hunter Dozier and Nate Eaton among the Royals’ infield options on the big league roster, the Royals have a crowded infield mix and seem to prefer Garcia getting regular at-bats in Omaha, which is sensible given that he’s one of the organization’s top-ranked prospects.

The Royals have more pitchers than position players on the 40-man roster, so optioning this trio out of big league camp seems to portend that as many as three non-roster invitees have a chance at claiming bench spots to open the year. Matt Duffy, Franmil Reyes, Johan Camargo, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Matt Beaty are among the non-roster veterans still in camp.

The Royals’ Potential Infield Competitions

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The Royals head into 2023 with a pair of infield spots sewn up. Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino are arguably the two most important players in the organization. They’ll be at shortstop and first base, respectively, on an everyday basis if healthy.

Who will fill in alongside them on the dirt is a key question for the front office and first-year skipper Matt Quatraro. The second and third base positions look fluid, and while there are perhaps a pair of early favorites for playing time, both will likely need to perform well early on to hold the job.

Michael Massey

Massey, 25 next week, enters the season as the presumptive second baseman. The Illinois product was called upon in early August and got into his first 52 big league contests last year. Through 194 plate appearances, he hit .243/.307/.376 with four home runs. Massey only walked in 4.6% of his plate appearances while striking out at a 23.7% clip that was a little higher than league average.

It was a fine debut but not a resounding showing that’d firmly stake a claim to the job. A former fourth-round pick, Massey has generally been viewed by prospect evaluators as a well-rounded player but one without overwhelming upside. He’s coming off an excellent showing in the upper minors, though, hitting .312/.371/.532 in 87 games between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha.

Hunter Dozier

Dozier is headed into the third season of a four-year contract extension. The first two years haven’t gone as the club envisioned, with the former eighth overall draftee hitting only .226/.289/.391 with a 7.4% walk rate and 26.7% strikeout percentage in more than 1000 plate appearances. Paired with a corner only defensive profile, Dozier’s production has checked in below replacement level over that stretch. He’s yet to consistently maintain the level he showed in 2019, when he connected on 26 home runs with a .279/.348/.522 slash.

Despite the past few seasons’ struggles, the Royals seem set to give Dozier another crack. General manager J.J. Picollo told reporters on the eve of Spring Training that the 31-year-old was likely to see regular work at third base (via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). He’s played primarily first base and the corner outfield since 2020. Public defensive metrics haven’t been particularly enthused with his glovework anywhere on the diamond.

Nicky Lopez

Lopez has been in Kansas City’s Opening Day lineup in each of the last three years. That consistent playing time was due to his elite contact skills and defensive profile up the middle. Lopez has bottom-of-the-scale power and an offensive approach designed to hit the ball on the ground. He rode an unsustainable .347 batting average on balls in play to some success in 2021 but has otherwise been a well below-average hitter at the MLB level.

Even without much offensive impact, Lopez has shown some value in a bottom-of-the-lineup role. He’s a quality baserunner, an attribute that could be a bit more impactful than in years past thanks to the rule changes incentivizing more aggressive running. More importantly, he’s a strong gloveman at both middle infield spots. The division rival White Sox checked in on Lopez as part of their search for second base help in January, though K.C. was reportedly not eager to deal him for what’d have presumably been a fairly meager return. He’d likely be the first person up at the keystone if Massey doesn’t seize the opportunity early in the year.

Nate Eaton

The 26-year-old Eaton earned his big league debut last summer after hitting .295/.376/.510 in Omaha. He played regularly at third base down the stretch, getting into 44 games. Over his first 122 MLB plate appearances, Eaton hit a league average .264/.331/.387 and swiped 11 bases in 12 attempts. It was a strong showing from the former 21st-round pick that should earn him a roster spot out of camp.

Whether Eaton will get an everyday look at any one position remains to be seen. He’s played a decent amount of corner outfield in the minor leagues in addition to his time at third base. If Kansas City brass prefers him as an outfielder, they should have plenty of at-bats to afford him on the grass. He could also rotate through a handful of positions as a bat-first utility option from the right side of the plate.

Maikel García

García, 23, has just nine big league games under his belt. Aside from that cup of coffee, the Venezuela native split the 2022 season between the top two minor league levels. García hit .285/.359/.427 in 555 combined plate appearances, showing solid plate discipline and contact skills while stealing 39 bases.

Baseball America ranked him the #6 prospect in the organization this offseason. García only has 40 games of Triple-A experience and seems likely to start the year in Omaha but he could factor in at either second or third base in Kansas City before long. He’s played almost exclusively shortstop in the minors and will presumably start to branch out to other infield positions soon with Witt established at shortstop in Kansas City.

Samad Taylor

The Royals acquired the 24-year-old Taylor from the Blue Jays last summer as part of a two-player return for Whit Merrifield. Kansas City selected his contract this offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. That puts him on the radar for his first big league call at some point, though he could certainly start the year in Omaha. The former 10th-round selection had hit .258/.337/.426 with nine homers and 23 steals in 70 games for the Jays’ top affiliate before the deal. He didn’t appear in a game with Omaha after the trade because of injury but is now healthy and participating in Spring Training. BA slotted him as the organization’s #24 prospect, suggesting he’s likely to serve a utility role.

Matt Duffy/Johan Camargo/Matt Beaty

This trio of veterans is in camp on minor league deals. They’re all jockeying for a possible utility role in Spring Training, with Beaty and Duffy off to strong starts in exhibition play. Duffy is a high-contact hitter who probably has the highest offensive floor of the group. Camargo offers the most defensive flexibility with the ability to play shortstop. Beaty has shown an intriguing combination of power and contact skills at his best but isn’t a great defender anywhere and is looking to rebound from a Murphy’s law 2022 campaign.

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Massey and Dozier look like the likeliest second and third base duo to start the season. Neither seems a lock to hold the job all year, though, raising the possibility for the club to go in a few different directions. Lopez offers a glove-first alternative off the bench, while younger players like García, Eaton and Taylor could play their way into opportunities if players above them on the depth chart struggle. García, in particular, seems like a potential long-term regular based on his defense and strike zone awareness.

Royals Designate Joel Payamps For Assignment

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The Royals have designated right-hander Joel Payamps for assignment and optioned infielder Maikel Garcia to Triple-A Omaha, per a club announcement. That pair of moves will open roster space for Hunter Dozier to return from the paternity list and for righty Max Castillo to be recalled from Omaha. Castillo, whom the Royals acquired in the trade that sent Whit Merrifield to Toronto, will start tonight’s game in place of veteran Brad Keller, who has been moved from the rotation to the bullpen.

Payamps, 28, has been a solid member of the Kansas City bullpen this season, working to a 3.16 ERA with a 17.6% strikeout rate, an 8.5% walk rate and a hearty 53.3% ground-ball rate, all of which makes his DFA at least a mild surprise. Fielding-independent metrics aren’t quite as bullish on the righty, who’s benefited from an elevated 78.9% left-on-base rate and given up a fair bit of hard contact (40.9%). Still, Payamps is averaging a career-high 95 mph on his heater, keeping the ball on the ground at a career-best rate and sporting a career-best 10.1% swinging-strike rate.

It’s not an elite package of results and secondary marks, but Payamps has had a better year than the standard DFA casualty and figures to have a decent chance of being claimed on waivers. That’ll be the Royals’ only course of action, as he can’t be traded now that the deadline has passed. Payamps is controllable for another four years beyond the current season but is out of minor league options, so any team to claim him will have to carry him on the MLB roster.

Castillo, 23, slotted in as the Royals’ No. 24 prospect at Baseball America in their post-deadline reranking of the system. He made his big league debut with Toronto earlier in the season, appearing in nine games (two of them starts) and working to a 3.05 ERA with a 20-to-5 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings. It’s been a strong season on the whole for Castillo, who notched a 3.10 ERA in Double-A before jumping to Triple-A and yielding six runs in 31 innings (1.74 ERA).

Castillo isn’t a power pitcher but has displayed solid walk and ground-ball rates while garnering praise for an above-average changeup and command of the strike zone. The Royals will take at least some of the remainder of the season to evaluate him as a potential rotation piece, though it’s always possible that he ultimately slots in as a multi-inning reliever or swing man. For now, he’ll join Zack Greinke, Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch and Kris Bubic on the starting staff.

IL Transactions: Matz, VerHagen, Lynch, De Jong

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The Cardinals activated left-hander Steven Matz off the 15-day injured list today, as Matz was slated to start the Cardinals’ game against the Reds before the contest was rained out.  Matz will now have to wait until after the All-Star break to make his official return to the field, as he has been sidelined since May 22 due to a shoulder impingement.  With the Cards in need of rotation help, a healthy and effective Matz would be a major boost to the team, as both sides must hope that this two-month absence can essentially be a restart on Matz’s season.  After signing a four-year, $44MM free agent deal with St. Louis in November, Matz stumbled out of the gate with a 6.03 ERA over his first 37 1/3 innings in a Cardinals uniform.

To create room on the active roster, St. Louis placed right-hander Drew VerHagen on the 15-day IL with a right hip impingement.  A similar injury sent VerHagen to the injured list for a little over three weeks earlier this season, and the righty was just activated from another IL stint (due to shoulder problems) earlier this week.  With all of these health issues, it perhaps isn’t surprising that VerHagen has only a 6.65 ERA over 21 2/3 innings, with walks and home runs being particular issues for the 31-year-old.  VerHagen is another offseason signing for the Cards, joining the team on a two-year, $5.5MM deal after spending the previous two seasons pitching in Japan.

More comings and goings off the injured list from around the league…

  • The Royals placed left-hander Daniel Lynch on the 15-day IL, as Lynch is again dealing with a blister problem.  Lynch had already been sent to the IL with that same blister issue on June 24, and he was activated earlier this week and made two abbreviated starts before returning to the sidelines.  It has been a difficult season for Lynch, who has a 5.05 ERA and a wealth of troubling Statcast metrics over 15 starts and 71 1/3 innings.  Lynch’s IL placement was part of a busy day of roster moves for the Royals, who sent 10 players (Angel Zerpa, Nick Pratto, Gabe Speier, Collin Snider, Brewer Hicklen, Michael Massey, Freddy Fermin, Nate Eaton to Triple-A; Sebastian Rivero and Maikel Garcia to Double-A) to the minors in the aftermath of their series in Toronto.  This clears the way for the return of 10 Kansas City players, who were placed on the restricted list due to their non-vaccinated status.
  • The Pirates placed righty Chase De Jong on the 15-day IL due to tendinitis in his left knee, and Bryse Wilson (today’s starting pitcher against the Rockies) was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Another knee injury is perhaps a red flag for De Jong, who underwent surgery on that same left knee last year.  The surgery cut short De Jong’s first season in Pittsburgh, but after signing another minor league deal with the Bucs this past winter, De Jong has rebounded to post a 2.06 ERA over 35 relief innings in 2022.

Royals Add Nick Pratto, Seven Others To Major League Roster

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The Royals announced Thursday that they’ve recalled top first base prospect Nick Pratto from Triple-A Omaha as one of eight players joining the Major League roster. Also coming to the Majors are catcher Sebastian Rivero, infielder Maikel Garcia and lefty Angel Zerpa, who’ve been recalled from Double-A Arkansas. Additionally, the Royals selected the contracts of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton, catcher Freddy Fermin, outfielder Brewer Hicklen and infielder Michael Massey from Omaha.

The deluge of additions comes in conjunction with the previously announced slate of ten current Royals heading to the restricted list in advance of the team’s road series against the Blue Jays, where travel restrictions prevent unvaccinated athletes from entering Canada. Andrew Benintendi, Dylan Coleman, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbel, Brad Keller, MJ Melendez, Whit Merrifield, Brady Singer and Michael A. Taylor are all now formally on the restricted list.

As MLB.com’s Anne Rogers tweets, the roster spots of starting pitchers placed on the restricted list (i.e. Singer, Keller) cannot be filled until four days after they last pitched, per MLB rules, which explains the discrepancy between eight players being added versus the ten who went on the restricted list.

The Royals indicated in today’s announcement that they expect to add “up to two more players” to the big league roster over the course of the series. They’ll make another addition tomorrow and another on Sunday. Any players whose contracts were selected to the 40-man roster for this series can be returned to Triple-A without first needing to clear waivers, due to their status as Covid-19-related replacements.

Pratto’s promotion is the most notable of the bunch. The 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft, the California high school product slowly progressed up the minor league ladder. He had an awful 2019 showing in High-A, and the cancelation of the following minor league season dealt his prospect stock a hit heading into 2021. The lefty hitter rebounded in a huge way last year, blasting 36 home runs in a season split between the minors top two levels. That came with some alarming strikeout numbers, but Pratto’s combination of power and huge walk totals was enough to put him firmly in top prospect consideration. He entered the season as Baseball America’s #43 overall farmhand.

Assigned to Omaha to open this year, Pratto has essentially picked up where he left off. He’s hit 17 more longballs and drawn walks at a massive 15.1% clip, but he’s fanned in over 30% of his trips to the plate. The end result — a .240/.374/.484 line through 337 plate appearances — is still excellent. The Royals nevertheless brought up fellow top prospect Vinnie Pasquantino ahead of Pratto, seemingly preferring he get a long leash to iron out the strikeout concerns in the upper minors. It’s very possible he’ll head back to Omaha after the Jays’ series, but Kansas City fans will at least get their first glimpse at a player they hope eventually develops into a middle-of-the-order bat.

It’ll almost certainly be a brief stint for the group of players temporarily added to the 40-man roster. Hicklen was called up briefly as a COVID replacement earlier in the season. Fermin, Massey and Eaton all have opportunities to make their big league debuts in the coming days. Fermin, a former international signee out of Venezuela, is hitting .242/.357/.422 with Omaha this season.

Massey, a fourth-round pick out of Illinois in 2019, was recently named the #8 prospect in the Kansas City system by Baseball America. He owns a .348/.408/.630 line with six homers in 24 games since being bumped up to Omaha last month, and he’ll almost certainly land a permanent 40-man roster spot by next offseason (when Kansas City would need to add him to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft). Eaton is a former 21st-round pick out of VMI. BA recently slotted him 29th in the farm system in recognition of his .329/.388/.591 showing with the Storm Chasers.

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