Royals' decision to cut ties with floundering former top prospect was long overdue

The Kansas City Royals have established who will be breaking camp with them when they head on the road to open the season against the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Amidst these decisions though have come some additional internal moves to establish how their 40-man roster will look to start the season.

While the Royals selected the contract of reliever Eli Morgan, with a full 40-man they had to clear space. So, in order to do so they opted to designate the once highly-regarded prospect Drew Waters for assignment.

And regardless of how promising his future was once touted to be, this was a decision that was long overdue from the Royals brass.

Drew Waters never fullfilled lofty expectations Royals had for him

For context, the Royals acquired Waters - who was then the top prospect in the Atlanta Braves system - along with right-handed pitcher Andrew Hoffmann and infielder C.J. Alexander in exchange for the No. 35 overall pick, which ended up being right-handed pitcher J.R. Ritchie.

And right off the hop, after posting a 146 wRC+ in Triple-A Omaha that year, Waters made his big league debut with the Royals. And in 109 plate appearances, Waters posted an .803 OPS and 123 wRC+.

Given his high profile status as a prospect and his strong debut cameo in MLB, Royals fans wouldn't have been remised if they felt they had their center fielder of the future in Waters.

However, this is where things took a turn for the worst. Despite showing off double-digit stolen base base totals the next season in 2023, he only mustered a .228/.300/.377 slash line with an 83 wRC+ in 337 plate appearances.

Because of that, Waters began to be overlooked, appearing in just seven games in 2024, posting a 70 wRC+ in the process.

Come 2025, after a strong start to his minor league season with the Storm Chasers and then fitting in fairly well immediately after his return call-up - with a 114 wRC+ in April - he crashed after that, finishing the year with a 66 wRC+ while failing to appear with the Royals in the second half at all.

With an outfield full of more promising question marks, like Jac Caglianone, Isaac Collins and Kyle Isbel along with optionable depth like John Rave and Kameron Misner, Waters' presence on the 40-man felt far more of a hinderance than a help.

With the limbo that being DFA'd can cause, there's still some ambiguity to as to where Waters goes from here. With his previous prospect pedigree as well as the success he seems to find at the Triple-A level, he still makes a potentially intriguing get - maybe even for the Royals.

However, his time in Kansas City has only made it clearer that his role is likely not in the major leagues.