2 former KC Royals pitchers set to join Brady Singer with the Reds

After boosting their rotation by picking up Brady Singer in the Jonathan India trade, the Cincinnati Reds are again mining the pool of pitchers with Kansas City Royals pedigrees. Reports surfacing on February 11 have the Reds signing ex-KC relievers Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont, with ESPN's Jesse Rogers saying Barlow's single-season deal is worth $2.5 million, and the Reds' official site describing Staumont's only as a minor league pact with an invitation to spring camp.

Joining the Reds means both former Royals could resume relieving Singer, with whom they were teammates in Kansas City.

Scott Barlow has struggled a bit since leaving the KC Royals

Barlow broke in with the Royals in 2018, and in 2021, he took over the closer's role Greg Holland had re-inherited after the club dealt Trevor Rosenthal to the San Diego Padres at the 2020 trade deadline. Barlow saved 16 games in 2021, a career-high 24 the following campaign, and had racked up 13 when the Royals, well on their way to a 106-los season, sent him to San Diego for minor leaguers Henry Williams and Jesus Rios just before the 2023 deadline passed.

The Padres didn't use Barlow as a closer — they didn't give him a single save opportunity — but he pitched respectably for his new club. In 25 appearaces, he posted a 3.07 ERA and struck out 26% of the batters he faced.

Barlow returned to the American League with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024 but didn't last the season. He was 3-3 with a 4.25 ERA, two saves, and an excessive 5.07 BB/9 when the playoff-bound Guardians released him with less than half of September in the books.

Josh Staumont showed promise for the KC Royals

Staumont, like Barlow a right-hander, was especially good for two of the parts of five seasons he spent in Kansas City. He went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 192 ERA+ across 26 games in 2021. Then, appearing 64 times in 2022, he finished with a 65.2 inning ERA of 2.45, won four times, lost three, and saved five games.

But despite how well he pitched that year, the injury bug struck Staumont late in the campaign when right biceps tendinitis prematurely ended his season in August. He returned to action in mid-April of 2023, but a June neck injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. He worked only 20 innings, finished with a 5.40 ERA, and became a free agent when the Royals non-tendered him in November.

Staumont found a new home last season with the Minnesota Twins, but they cut him loose in early August when he was 1-0 with a 3.70 ERA in 25 games. He soon caught on with the Chicago Cubs, but lasted only 13 days — none of them spent in the majors — before they released him.

What might Cincinnati hold for Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont?

With Alexis Díaz in Cincinnati's bullpen, don't expect Barlow or Staumont to close many games. Díaz has 75 saves in his three-year Reds career, 37 two seasons ago and 28 last year. Barlow's presumed big league deal makes him more likely to land an Opening Day Cincinnati roster spot than Staumont, but both former Royals could end up working a lot of innings for the Reds and new manager Terry Francona before the 2025 campaign ends.