Royals latest 40-man roster decision was unsurprising but entirely necessary

Despite a Royals season defined by the disappointment of failing to reach the postseason after entering the year with so much promise, the year was not devoid of reasons for optimism.

Kansas City did manage to salvage a winning record to give them their second consecutive winning season, marking the first time they'd done so since the three year stretch from 2013 to 2015.

And they achieved such a feat primarily from how strong their pitching staff looked overall. While much of the shine will certainly be on the rotation, the bullpen's effectiveness cannot be overlooked. This could be Carlos Estévez leading the league in saves or the cast of characters like Steven Cruz or Taylor Clarke unexpectedly stepping into bigger roles.

However, relief pitching is the most volatile position in all of baseball and no bullpen is going to be perfect. There will always be names that underwhelm, and for the Royals this season one of those names was Sam Long.

Come 2026 though, the Royals will no longer be burdened by the southpaw's inconsistencies, as the team opted to outright him to the minors on Thursday.

Royals put the wheels in motion to cut ties with struggling Sam Long

Now that he's off KC's 40-man roster, in all likelihood, Long will opt to not accept a minor league assignment and instead test free agency.

This move should come as no surprise to the Royals, as whether it was this route or through the upcoming non-tender deadline it seemed all but a shoo-in to for Long to be on his out after his abysmal 2025 campaign.

He started the season off to a 12.86 ERA and 2.43 WHIP in 7.0 innings of work before landing on the IL until June. And while he showed signs of improvement in the second-half with a 2.81 ERA after the All-Star break, there seemed to be an element of luck involved, as he still only held a 5.04 FIP, 1.60 WHIP and .282 BAA.

Overall in 2025, Long simply failed to come close to returning to the go-to lefty status he held in their 2024 postseason bullpen. In 40.1 innings across 39 outings, he threw to a 5.36 ERA, 5.54 FIP, 1.74 WHIP and .291 BAA while only striking out hitters 17.5% of the time and walking them at an alarming 11.6% clip.

The writing was on the wall for a while when it came to ending this relationship, the only real surprise was the fact the Royals didn't make it happen sooner.