Some good, some bad for 5 former KC Royals

2 big hitters are at opposite ends of the spectrum after leaving the KC Royals

Injuries hampered Jorge Soler's efforts to help the Royals after the club traded Wade Davis to the Cubs for him following the 2016 season. But Kansas City finally reaped the benefits of the deal when in 2019 he shattered Mike Moustakas' short-lived franchise home run record by slamming 48 two seasons after Moose broke Steve Balboni's long-standing mark with 38. Soler also drove in 117 runs and slashed .265/.354/.569 in what remains the best season of his 10-year major league career.

Less than two years later, though, and in the midst of a season-long slump (13 homers, .192 in 94 games), Soler found himself headed for Atlanta via a trade deadline deal for pitcher Kasey Kalich. The move proved better for the Braves than for the Royals—Soler caught fire, helped Atlanta to a World Series title, and earned the Fall Classic's MVP award; Kalich, on the other hand, never made it to Kansas City and now pitches now for Cleburne in the American Association.

Soler left the Braves for Miami following that season and, after slumping to 13 homers and a .207 average in 2022, is once again enjoying a big season with 20 homers, 42 RBIs, and a .260/.366/.553 line.

Another ex-Royal isn't having such a good year. Carlos Santana, the first baseman-DH the Royals traded to Seattle last June to make room for Vinnie Pasquantino, has moved on to Pittsburgh and, after going 1-for-4 in the Pirates' loss to Milwaukee Sunday, is hitting .235 with six home runs in 63 games.

Now, let's look at two ex-KC pitchers...

Injuries are affecting a pair of ex-KC Royals pitchers this season

Although he'd pitched only 46 times in parts of three seasons with the Royals, this year's Opening Day cash-for-player deal with Atlanta that ended Richard Lovelady's Kansas City career felt surprising. Especially for a pitcher around 18 months removed from Tommy John Surgery, he'd looked good in spring training with eight scoreless innings,10 strikeouts, and no walks in eight appearances. That effort followed the four-inning, nine-strikeout rehab assignment he had late last season.

And he was 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA and a save in 20 games before the 2021 injury that led to his TJS.

But for whatever reason, the Royals sent him to the Braves, who soon lost him to Oakland on a waiver claim. Lovelady became a bullpen workhorse for the A's by pitching in 24 games with a 3.86 ERA (104 ERA+) and 20 strikeouts in 21 innings.

That 24th appearance, though, could be his last for quite a while. This happened June 15 with Lovelady striving to keep Oakland's game against the Rays tied in the seventh inning:

The A's put the lefthander on the 15-day IL Friday with a left elbow strain. When he pitches again remains to be seen.

Recent news looks better for Danny Duffy, the former KC starter who was having an excellent 2021 season when he went down with the second of two left flexor injuries he suffered that year. Despite his presence on the IL, the Dodgers wanted him at the trade deadline and sent cash and a player to be named later (Zach Willeman) to get him.

He hasn't appeared in the majors since but, in a late-season minor league rehab assignment last year, struck out 11 in 6.2 innings; the three runs he gave up in two-thirds of an inning Sept. 6 inflated his ERA to 5.40.

Now, he's with Texas and working his way back at the Rangers' Frisco Double-A affiliate, where he's 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA in five relief appearances. But the high ERA is deceiving—three of the four runs he's surrendered came in his first outing, and he's held opponents scoreless three times. Expect the Rangers to give him a big league chance later this season.