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KC Royals News: Another new pitcher, injuries, and former players

By Mike Gillespie |
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Thursday, in the final game of a long homestand, the KC Royals won their 12th game of a season perched precariously on the brink of becoming lost before it's even two months old. The reasons for their dismal start are many.

The starting pitching has too often been poor. Only recently has the offense, weak for so much of the young campaign, shown serious signs of real life. And injuries, something the club simply can't abide if it hopes to regain respectability, have played their part—starter Kris Bubic is out for the rest of the season after pitching only three times and undergoing Tommy John Surgery, starter Daniel Lynch suffered a shoulder strain before spring training ended and hasn't thrown a big league pitch, and an oblique injury ended outfielder Drew Waters' Cactus League season before it began.

And most recently, outfielder Kyle Isbel went down with a hamstring issue that will sideline him for several weeks, while pitcher Ryan Yarbrough took a line drive in the face Sunday. When he'll return to the mound isn't yet known.

Two of those Injured List players, however, are back in action on minor league rehabilitation assignments. How are they doing?

KC Royals Daniel Lynch and Drew Waters are working their way back at Omaha

Lynch and Waters are rehabbing at Triple-A Omaha, where Waters has started twice and is 0-for-9 through Thursday's Storm Chaser victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He's struck out once.

Lynch has pitched twice, first at Double-A Northwest Arkansas where he struck out six but gave up two runs, four hits, and a walk in a 2.1-inning start before moving up to Omaha, where he's started once and pitched 3.1 innings without surrendering a run.

Moving on, how about a new pitcher?

Not long after picking up 2 new hurlers, the KC Royals have acquired another

Always in search of new major and minor league pitchers, the Royals recently traded for one and signed another. Now, they've picked up a third new hurler from a nearby source.

According to the Kansas City Monarchs, an American Association and major league partner franchise located across the state line in Piper, Kansas, the Royals have assumed the contract of reliever Jackson McClelland:

His name may not be familiar, but McClelland has been pitching professionally since 2015. He began at Low-A Vancouver and went 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA after the Blue Jays took him in Round 15 of the 2015 amateur draft, then returned to Vancouver the next year and improved to 2-4, 3.26 in 24 relief appearances.

The righthander saved 15 games and was 3-4 with an excellent 1.34 ERA in a 2017 season split between Low and High-A. He pitched in High-A and Double-A in 2018 and went 1-4, 4.33, was 0-2, 3.77 across Double-A and Triple-A in 2019, and was 2-1, 5.54 in 2021, a season he began at Triple-A Buffalo but ended at Triple-A Iowa after the Toronto organization released him and the Cubs picked him up. He didn't pitch last season.

Expect the Royals to assign McClelland to Omaha.

And in more news...

One former KC Royals player has a new home while another looks for one

Meibrys Viloria, who became well-known to Kansas City fans as an occasional big league backup to catchers Salvador Perez and Cam Gallagher, has moved to the Angels' organization after signing a minor league deal with the club. Viloria hit .215 in 67 games for the Royals between 2018 and 2020 before becoming a free agent and signing with the Rangers after the 2021 campaign. He played 26 times for the Rangers last season and batted .159; the Giants claimed him off waivers in November but DFA'd him a few days later.

Viloria caught on with Cleveland and went hitless in 10 games for the Guardians before going unclaimed on the waiver wire and electing free agency after the Guardians DFA'd him May 1.

Looking for a job is Franmil Reyes, who the Royals demoted to Omaha after he struggled at the plate in Kansas City—he was hitting just .186 with two homers when the club sent him down. He was 4-for-18 for the Storm Chasers when the Royals DFA'd him Tuesday. He became a free agent by turning down an outright assignment (Twitter link) back to Omaha.

Next. A contract extension?. dark

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