Former Rookie of the Year leaves Royals, lands with fellow AL contender

As the 2025 season has unfolded, the Kansas City Royals have made noticeable strides offensively. Since the All-Star break, they’ve been one of baseball’s top run-scoring teams, fueling their surge back into the AL Wild Card race.

On the flip side, their once-elite rotation has been undermined by key injuries and the puzzling regression of veteran Seth Lugo. Those setbacks have opened the door for the likes of Rich Hill, Bailey Falter, and Thomas Hatch to log innings in Royals uniforms. Hatch and Hill were veteran arms grinding in Triple-A Omaha on minor-league deals before earning call-ups.

It seemed former Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer might follow that same path, but instead he quietly departed the Royals’ system—and resurfaced with another AL contender in a similar role.

According to MLB.com’s transactions tracker, the Seattle Mariners signed Michael Fulmer to a minor-league deal on Tuesday, just days after the Royals released him.

Kansas City had originally signed the 32-year-old Oklahoma native to a minor-league deal on July 3. Fulmer made 15 appearances for Triple-A Omaha, posting a 5.89 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 18 1/3 innings. Both his ERA and 1.47 WHIP were the highest he’s recorded at any minor-league stop since 2014.

The Royals were not keen on giving Michael Fulmer another MLB look.

It’s been more of the same for Fulmer in 2025, as he now finds himself with his fourth organization of the year.

He began the season in the Red Sox system, even making a brief return to the majors before being outrighted back to Triple-A. After electing free agency, he signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs on Apr. 22, making 15 appearances and two starts for Iowa before earning another MLB look. A DFA and another free agency decision sent him to Omaha with the Royals, and now he’s once again chasing a big-league spot—this time with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma.

Fulmer’s MLB career began with promise, as he captured AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2016 and earned his lone All-Star selection the following season. Over his first three years, he made 75 starts for the Tigers, posting a 3.81 ERA and 3.95 FIP. Heading into his age-26 season in 2019, he looked like one of the few bright spots on a struggling Detroit roster.

But a spring bullpen injury led to Tommy John surgery, and Fulmer has never quite been the same since. His 2020 return as a starter brought abysmal results, though he eventually found some success after shifting to the bullpen.

Fulmer proved to be an above-average reliever across three seasons with the Cubs, Tigers, and Twins, but another major surgery in 2023 sidelined him for all of 2024 and forced yet another climb back to form. He may never be the dazzling starter Royals fans once dreaded facing, but he’s hoping to carve out a role again—this time in the Mariners’ bullpen.