Injuries & Moves: Royals add pair of RHPs on Minors deals
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The Royals' injuries and roster moves page will be updated throughout the offseason.
LATEST NEWS
Dec. 20: Royals sign RHPs Taylor Clarke, Junior Fern¨¢ndez to Minor League deals
The Royals reunited with Clarke, who pitched for Kansas City in 2022-23, on a Minor League deal with an invite to Spring Training. They traded him to the Brewers last offseason for roster space, but Clarke didn¡¯t pitch in the Majors in ¡¯24. He tore his meniscus in Spring Training and was optioned to Triple-A in May, going on and off the injured list until he was designated for assignment in July and then sent outright to the Minor Leagues. In total, the 31-year-old Clarke posted a 4.90 ERA across 68 innings for Triple-A Nashville.
Fern¨¢ndez, 27, will also get an invite to big league camp. The reliever pitched in the Majors for parts of four seasons with St. Louis and Pittsburgh from 2019-22 and then spent ¡¯23 in the Blue Jays and Nationals organizations. He¡¯s currently pitching for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. Fern¨¢ndez has a career 5.17 ERA in the Majors and 3.95 career ERA in the Minors.
Dec. 17: Royals avoid arbitration with RHP Kyle Wright; sign LHPs Noah Cameron, Evan Sisk to 2025 contracts
The Royals got an early jump on finalizing the salaries of their seven arbitration-eligible players with Wright¡¯s contract on Tuesday. The right-handed pitcher will make $1.8 million in 2025, his second year of arbitration eligibility, a source told MLB.com. This is the same salary as ¡¯24, when Wright was rehabbing from right shoulder surgery that he underwent in October 2023. The Royals traded for him a month later knowing he would miss the entire ¡¯24 season, but he¡¯s going through a healthy offseason right now and is expected to be back on the mound in Spring Training.
The six other arbitration-eligible players the Royals will have to finalize contracts with or risk going to an arbitration hearing in January are righties Carlos Hernandez, John Schreiber and Hunter Harvey; lefty Kris Bubic; and outfielders MJ Melendez and Kyle Isbel.
Cameron and Sisk are pre-arbitration players who were added to the 40-man roster last month. The Royals will finalize contracts with all their pre-arb players throughout the rest of the offseason and into Spring Training.
Dec. 6: INF Maikel Garcia undergoes surgery to remove bone chips in elbow
While playing catch at home the week prior to Thanksgiving, Garcia reported elbow soreness to the Royals, who had him fly to Kansas City for an MRI. The scans revealed bone chips -- a small fragment of bone that has broken off -- in his right elbow that needed to be removed, and Garcia had that surgery done on Dec. 5.
A Royals official categorized the procedure as ¡°minor¡± and said Garcia is expected to be ready for Spring Training in February. The 24-year-old is expected to return as the Royals¡¯ third baseman in 2025 after slashing .231/.281/.332 with 27 doubles and 37 stolen bases this past season.
Nov. 22: All players tendered contracts for 2025
The Royals tendered contracts to all unsigned players for next season ahead of Friday¡¯s deadline to do so, including their arbitration-eligible players: Kris Bubic, Carlos Hern¨¢ndez, Kyle Wright, John Schreiber, Hunter Harvey, MJ Melendez and Kyle Isbel.
That list does not include Brady Singer because he was traded Friday night to the Reds, who will take over salary obligations for the right-hander in his third year of being arbitration-eligible.
Nov. 22: RHP Brady Singer traded to Reds for INF Jonathan India and OF Joey Wiemer
In the Royals¡¯ first big move surrounding their offense this offseason, they swung a trade with the Reds that landed them an established leadoff hitter in India and a young outfielder in Wiemer. The cost was parting with homegrown starter Singer, who has been a durable piece of the Royals¡¯ rotation for the past five seasons after they drafted him 18th overall in the 2018 Draft.
India has a career .253/.352/.412 slash line, and in 2024, he posted a .750 OPS with 15 home runs and 28 doubles. More >>
Nov. 19: LHP Noah Cameron, RHP Luinder Avila, RHP Eric Cerantola added to 40-man roster
The Royals added the three prospects ahead of Tuesday evening¡¯s deadline to protect eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft. Cameron, ranked by MLB Pipeline as Kansas City¡¯s No. 12 prospect, posted a 3.08 ERA across 128 2/3 innings in Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha this past season. Avila (No. 26) spent the majority of 2024 in Double-A, throwing 82 2/3 innings across 19 starts and posting a 3.81 ERA for the Naturals. No. 29 prospect Cerantola allowed 18 earned runs in 58 1/3 innings for Northwest Arkansas. More >>
INJURY UPDATES
INF Maikel Garcia
Expected return: Spring Training
Garcia reported elbow soreness to the Royals around Thanksgiving this offseason, and the team had him go to Kansas City for an MRI. Scans revealed bone chips in his right elbow, and Garcia had surgery to remove them the first week of December. While Garcia has to rest and recover following the procedure, it¡¯s not expected to delay him heading into Spring Training. (Last updated: Dec. 6)
RHP Kyle Wright (right shoulder surgery)
Expected return: 2025
The Royals traded for Wright in November 2023 in exchange for Jackson Kowar knowing Wright was coming off shoulder surgery after the 2023 season. They made the move thinking ahead a year, hoping Wright, who posted a 3.19 ERA with 21 wins in ¡¯22 with the Braves, could help them in ¡¯25 and beyond.
Wright is expected to be healthy come Spring Training 2025, although he might be limited with his workload after a year off from pitching. The Royals view him as solid pitching depth. They reinstated him from the 60-day IL on Nov. 4, and he is arbitration-eligible for the second season this winter. (Last updated: Nov. 4)