Royals could address rapidly declining pitching depth with former All-Star free agent

It appears the Kansas City Royals can't have anything nice these days. After looking like more of a competent baseball team of late after a nightmare early season stretch which featured a horrific eight-game losing streak, the Royals have now been bitten by the injury bug again. This time, it's their starting pitching depth that's taken multiple hits, with both rotation hopeful Ryan Bergert and 40-man prospect Ben Kudrna both undergoing season-ending surgeries this week.

Now, after an offseason in which many thought the Royals had more than enough starting depth - even enough to potentially trade from to bolster other spots, their depth chart looks extremely thin. Should anything happen to any of their starting five, a rehabbing Stephen Kolek, along with bounce-back hopeful Mitch Spence are really their only two viable options to call on.

That being said, it doesn't need to remain this way. Former two-time All-Star Marcus Stroman one name still available on the free-agent market that may not be an outright big league starter in 2026, but has the pedigree to be intriguing depth arms to stash Triple-A - much like Rich Hill and Dallas Keuchel were for Kansas City last year.

Stroman is also in search of a job after an injury-ridden season himself in 2025 before he was subsequently released by New York in August. As brutal as 2025 was for the former two-time All-Star, Stroman's track record makes a minor league gamble not the worst idea in the world.

Marcus Stroman's control could make him valued depth arm for Royals

Even in the height of his struggles, Stroman still found a way to display a respectable level of control, never exceeding a 10% walk rate at any point in his 11-year MLB career. On top of that, apart from three of his last four seasons, Stroman has traditionally been an arm that's limited the long ball effectively, traditionally holding sub-1.00 HR/9 clips, including most recently a 0.59 mark with the Cubs in 2023.

While his quality of contact has leaned more towards the harder end in recent years, the one benefit Stroman has is that he's a gorundball pitcher by trade, which in a newly renovtaed Kauffman Stadium with a strong infield defense could be a game-changer if he were to ever get the chance to pitch in the majors for the Royals.

Stroman has made it clear in the recent past that he views himself as a starter, controversially at that, so while it may not be an immediate major league job, if he wants to continue his big league career, the Royals could offer him a chance to itch that starting pitching desire of his.

Kansas City hasn't been shy when it comes to signing 2010s Toronto Blue Jays in 2026, inking Stroman's former rotation mate in Aaron Sanchez to a MiLB deal this winter and just this week signing outfielder-turned-reliever Anthony Gose to join their Triple-A bullpen.

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