Kansas City Royals Rumors: Team checks in on Drew Storen

News surfaced late Monday that the the Kansas City Royals have shown interest in former Nationals reliever, Drew Storen.

The Kansas City Royals were on the hunt for some cost effective relief arms. It seems they may have stumbled across an intriguing bargain. Drew Storen underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2017. He’s 31, and the former Washington Nationals closer was a vital piece in their bullpen from the 2010 season until 2015.

After his time with the Nationals, he was with the Blue Jays for half of the 2016 season, and it didn’t go well for him. He was traded in July of that season to the Seattle Mariners before heading to the Cincinnati Reds for the 2017 season.

He spent the 2018 season recovering from his surgery, but he is looking to get back into the swing of playing in the MLB.

A tweet by Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported that the Kansas City Royals have expressed their interest in Drew Storen. In 2017 with the Reds before he was injured, his stat line read: 4.45 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 2.09 K/BB through 54.2 innings.

Career Statistics

His whole career has been spent in the bullpen, which is exactly what the Kansas City Royals have been searching for. Keep in mind, he is coming off of Tommy John. He has had time to recover, which is good.

Overall, his career ERA sits at 3.45 after pitching a total of 440.1 innings. His FIP is at 3.44, and his WHIP sits at 1.195 on his career.

He has just one full year of AL experience. The first half of his season with the Blue Jays, he yielded an ERA of 6.21. He was able to get more accustomed in the second half of the 2016 season, where he tossed a 3.44 ERA for the Mariners.

Role for the Royals?

He served part of his career as a closer, and he has tallied 99 saves in his career. The former 34th round draft pick of the New York Yankees in the 2007 draft is a great fit for the Royals. They are looking to pick up some cheap pitching, and Storen fits the profile.

He doesn’t really profile as a closer for the Kansas City Royals, although anything is possible. If Drew Storen does in fact end up signing with the Royals and make the team, he would fit best as a middle innings reliever.