KC Royals continue to stockpile pitching depth, sign former first-round draft pick

Despite a couple of mound hiccups against St. Louis this week — Michael Lorenzen's bad Tuesday start and Cole Ragans' ragged return from the Injured List Thursday — the Kansas City Royals continue to boast one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. Manager Matt Quatraro's excellent rotation and effective bullpen are keeping the club in contention while it anxiously awaits the offense to find consistency.

However, that doesn't mean Kansas City isn't seeking pitching insurance. Just within the past three weeks, the Royals signed four major league veteran hurlers to minor league deals. So it should come as no surprise that, facing the continuing uncertainty surrounding reliever Hunter Harvey's health, Kyle Wright's ongoing efforts to work his way back to the majors, and Ragans' recent groin issue, Kansas City made another move Friday to increase its depth.

Per Kansas City Star Royals beat writer Jaylon Thompson, the club has acquired Justin Dunn on a minor-league deal. The veteran of parts of four big league seasons will presumably head for Triple-A Omaha, or perhaps Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

What are the Royals getting with Dunn?

KC Royals reportedly sign former major league pitcher Justin Dunn

Dunn, a first-round selection of the Mets in the 2016 amateur draft after the Dodgers picked him but failed to sign him three years before, has pitched in the majors for Seattle and Cincinnati. The right-hander broke in with four late-season starts for the Mariners in 2019 — his debut ended after only two-thirds of an inning during which he walked five and surrendered two runs to Cincinnati. But he threw six scoreless innings over his other three starts to finish with a nice, albeit small sample size, 2.70 ERA.

Dunn made 21 starts and went 5-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 5.6 BB/9 for Seattle over the next two seasons. The M's shipped him to Cincinnati in a six-player deal before the 2022 season, and he went 1-3 with a 6.10 ERA for Cincinnati that year. The 17 walks he issued in 31 innings suggested he hadn't shaken the control issues that plagued him in Seattle.

Unfortunately, a shoulder problem struck Dunn late in the 2022 season and continued to bother him in 2023, so much so that he worked in only three minor league games — two in the Arizona Complex League and another at Triple-A Louisville — before missing all of last season following surgery.

Owner of a pitching repertoire that includes a four-seam fastball, changeup, curve, and slider, Dunn caught on with the White Sox before this season began and was 2-3 with a concerning 7.64 ERA and 25 walks in 33 innings for their Charlotte Triple-A affiliate before the Knights released him last week.

Now, the Royals are giving Dunn, 29, another chance. He brings a 6-7, 4.44 ERA career major league record and 25-26, 4.21 ERA minor league marks to the organization. But he'll need to improve his control if he hopes to find his way to Kansas City.