KC Royals promote Nick Loftin as Tyler Tolbert is placed on bereavement list

As the Kansas City Royals look to extend their winning streak up to six games in their weekend series finale against the Houston Astros, they were forced to make a roster move ahead of Sunday's 1:10 p.m. CT first pitch.

The Royals announced late Sunday morning that they'd promoted utility man Nick Loftin from Triple-A Omaha to address fellow utility man Tyler Tolbert being placed on the bereavement list.

KC Royals promote Nick Loftin as Tyler Tolbert is placed on bereavement list

Loftin is no stranger to the the big leagues as he already has 239 MLB plate appearances under his belt for the Royals. Loftin last appeared in the majors on Aug. 31 of last season, and in the entirety of the 2024 campaign hit just .189 with a .519 OPS, one home run and 14 RBI in 171 plate appearances.

On top of looking to improve upon his limited 2024 major league season, he'll look to make a better impression with the Royals in general, as in those 239 career plate appearances with them he's slashing just .229/.307/.295 with a 69 wRC+.

He's been productive in Triple-A Omaha so far this season, hitting .307 with a .939 OPS, 25.2% walk rate, 10.7% K-rate and 164 wRC+ through 103 plate appearances across 22 games.

Loftin gives the Royals a useful bench piece that can play multiple positions around the diamond, much like Tolbert has for them since his promotion, with appearances at first base, second base, third base and left field with the Storm Chasers this season.

Loftin holds a bit more value with the bat, as Tolbert, who's more know for his blistering speed, has yet to record a big league hit and in the upper minors has yet to hit over .300 like Loftin's managed.

The Royals will miss Tolbert's phenomenal speed though, as he's accumulated six steals already thi season and has also been a bit of staple for pinch running in the later innings, most recently last night.

We'll have to wait and see in the coming days what the Royals plan on doing when Tolbert comes off the bereavement list, as it remains to be seen whether this is simply a short-term promotion for Loftin or if he's destined to play a bigger role with club moving forward.