KC Royals gambling again with latest bullpen signing

Fresh from taking a chance by bringing back relief pitcher Tyler Clarke this week, the Kansas City Royals have rolled the bullpen dice again. The club announced on December 20 that it has signed ex-St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Junior Fernández to a minor league deal.

The risk is palpable and may spark some disenchantment from fans hoping for a more promising addition to a relief corps in need of increased consistency and stability.

Simply put, Fernández is — despite 50 major league appearances spread over snatches of four different seasons and 234 minor league appearances — still a work in progress, and he'll be coming off a 2024 campaign destroyed by injury.

Junior Fernández brings question marks to the KC Royals

Fernández began his professional career by losing five of his seven appearances during the 2014 Dominican Summer League campaign. He worked primarily as a starter for three seasons before moving to the bullpen full time in 2018, and then going 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA in two dozen games split between the Cardinals' High-A and Double-A affiliates.

Then came 2019 and the major leagues. The Cardinals called him to St. Louis in August and, after striking out two, giving up a pair of singles, and getting charged with two runs that Tyler Frazier surrendered after his exit, went 0-1 with a concerning 4.09 in 12 more appearances. He finished with a 5.40 ERA.

Two problems that plagued his short major league career — he gives up too many runs and walks too many batters — marred that introductory season, too. Fernández yielded seven runs and walked six in just 11.2 innings in 2019, and since then, opponents have scored 25 times in 42.1 innings against him and worked him for 29 walks. He'll report to spring training with a career 5.17 ERA and 5.83 BB/9.

Fernández — who's also made brief stops with the Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington, and Yankees' organizations but pitched in the majors for only the Cardinals and Pirates — must improve in those two critical areas if he and the Royals want him to reach Kansas City in 2025. The club has to be encouraged, though, by the 2.93 ERA he posted in 2022, when he appeared in 13 games for St. Louis and three for Pittsburgh.

But another uncertainty is following Fernández to the Royals, as well. As free agent after the 2023 season, Fernández signed to play in Japan with the Chiba Lotte Marines, but only pitched twice after developing right distal clavicle lysis. His new club let him go in July.

Just what the Royals have in mind for Fernández remains to be seen. Because he's never started a major league game, he'll likely stay in the bullpen where, if he makes the big league club, he and the Royals surely hope he can make a difference.