How are these 2023 KC Royals faring with their new clubs?

STORY UPDATE: After this story published, the White Sox announced they've called up pitcher Brad Keller from Triple-A Charlotte.

Operating in the trade deadline seller's mode they know all too well, the KC Royals dealt closer Scott Barlow to San Diego last summer. The Padres missed the playoffs, then traded Barlow to Cleveland, where he'll get his first chance to face his old Royals teammates when Kansas City visits the Guardians in early June.

For Barlow, the grass on his newest club is, at least for the time being, only slightly greener than it is in KC — at 19-8, Cleveland leads the American League Central, but only by 2.5 games over the 17-11 Royals. And because the Guardians have Emmanuel Clase and his eight saves closing, Barlow is primarily a set-up man; he's 2-2 with a 3.46 ERA and one save.

Barlow's numbers aren't as good as they have been during his seven-season big league career, but he's faring better with his new team than many of the other 2023 Royals who no longer call Kansas City home.

Let's check in on some of those old friends.

Nicky Lopez — White Sox

The Royals did Lopez a favor at the trade deadline last summer: swapping him to Atlanta for pitcher Taylor Hearn put him on a contender and, eventually, into the playoffs for the first time.

The Braves, however, weren't so kind to the popular KC infielder who in 2021 became the first Royal shortstop ever to hit .300; after the season ended, they dealt him to the White Sox, where he again plays for a last-place team that, at 5-22, could finish the season with a worse record than the 106-loss 2023 Royals.

And Lopez isn't helping matters much. Although he's 7-for-22 in his last five games, he's hitting only .219.

Moving on...

Brad Keller — White Sox (minors)

A two-time KC Pitcher of the Year plagued by inconsistency and injuries during his last two Royal campaigns, and who became a free agent for the first time when last season ended, Keller didn't find new employment until spring training was three weeks old. That's when the White Sox signed him to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring camp.

He hasn't pitched yet for the Sox and is 1-1, 4.50 in three starts for Triple-A Charlotte. Not stellar numbers to be sure, but because Chicago is presently the worst team in the majors and can use all the help it can find, Keller may soon get another big league shot.

Ryan Yarbrough — Dodgers

Yarbrough signed a free agent deal with the Royals two Decembers ago, but his Kansas City career didn't last long. The club traded him to the Dodgers Aug. 1, where he went 4-2 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA down the stretch, but didn't see postseason action.

Still a Dodger, the lefty reliever is 2-1, 3.52, and has a save in eight appearances.

José Cuas — Cubs (minors)

The Royals moved reliever Cuas, then 3-0, 4.52 to the Cubs last July. Despite surrendering eight runs in the six innings he worked the rest of the way, Cuas began this season in Chicago, but the Cubs optioned him to Triple-A Iowa earlier this month. He's pitched four times there and is 1-0.

Moving on again...

Amir Garrett — Angels (minors)

Garret's fiery mound presence endeared him to Kansas City fans as soon as the Royals acquired him from Cincinnati just before the 2022 season. Unfortunately, the change of scenery didn't solve the control issues he can't seem to shake, and the club released him last July.

Garrett signed with Cleveland not long after KC cut him; he never made it back to the majors before the Guardians released him in August, and the deal he signed with San Francisco in spring training didn't last a week.

Now, he's pitching for the Angels' Salt Lake Triple-A club. The control problems are still there — he's walked four in 7.1 innings, but he's also fanned 10 and is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

Hunter Dozier — Angels (minors)

That it took Dozier almost eight months to find work after the Royals released him late last May isn't too surprising. After all, he'd hit only .223 and homered just 36 times after 2019, when he had 29 doubles, 10 triples, 26 homers, 84 RBI, and slashed .279/.348/.522. Whatever magic he found that year disappeared.

Like Amir Garrett, Dozier hooked on with the Angels and toils now at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he still searches, but hasn't found, that 2019 magic. His 23-game .178 average is well under the Mendoza Line.

Collin Snider — Mariners (minor league rehab assignment)

Snider pitched out of KC's bullpen in 2022 and 2023 before Arizona grabbed him on a December waiver claim. The Mariners plucked him off the waiver wire in February and he gave up two runs in three innings for them this season before a knee contusion forced him to the Injured List earlier this month; he's now 0-0, 3.00 in three rehab assignment innings at Triple-A Tacoma.

And a few more former Royals...

Dylan Coleman — Astros (minors)

After going 5-2, 2.66 in 73 relief appearances during his first two seasons with the Royals, Coleman gave up 19 runs and walked 19 in 18.1 innings last season, spent some time in the minors, then found himself traded to Houston in December. And after pitching a scoreless inning for the Astros earlier this month, he's back in the minors with their Sugar Land Triple-A affiliate where, after giving up two runs and walking three without getting an out against Reno Saturday, he's surrendered six runs and walked 15 (but fanned 14) in 8.2 innings.

Samad Taylor — Mariners (minors)

The Royals traded the speedy Taylor, an infielder-outfielder who hit .200 and stole eight bases in 31 games for them last season, to Seattle in late January. He went 2-for-5 in a three-game stint with the Mariners in early April and is hitting .205 with a homer, 15 RBI, and seven steals for their Tacoma Triple-A affiliate.

Other former KC Royals who played for the club last season

Utility man Matt Duffy is on Texas' Triple-A affiliate Round Rock's roster, but has been on the Injured List since April 5. He had two singles and a double in six at-bats before that.

Outfielder Franmil Reyes plays in Japan for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He's homered twice, driven in three runs, and is batting .184.

Pitcher Jackson Kowar is with Seattle after KC traded him to Atlanta in November and the Braves dealt him to the Mariners in December. But he won't pitch this season after having Tommy John Surgery in March.

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