Royals make predictable bullpen move after unsurprisingly cutting ties with Bailey Falter

While Kansas City Royals fans likely never thought a news day would be taken up primarily by Bailey Falter, after he held a lion share of the blame in their 15-1 defeat with 24 hits surrendered to Yankees, it makes a lot of sense. And to no-one's surprise, Falter's Tuesday shelling was in fact the straw that broke the camel's back on his time with the Royals after the team designated him for assignment on Wednesday.

In a corresponding move the Royals opted call-up right-handed reliever Mason Black for at least the meantime after a successful stint in the majors earlier in the season.

Black hasn't exactly been tearing up the scene in Triple-A Omaha this season. In 20.2 innings of work across 13 outings with the Storm Chasers, he's thrown to a 6.53 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and .272 BAA. However, in his four relief outings with the Royals this season, Black has gotten the job done having not surrendered an earned run. And after all, it's not as if Falter set the bar high for his replacement.

Royals fans could very well be experiencing a sense of unwanted déjà vu when it comes to Falter's DFA. Just over a week to the date last season, the Royals designated the struggling Chris Stratton for assignment and released him just days later following his 7.94 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and .367 BAA in 12 outings.

Unfortunately for Falter, his near-14.00 ERA, 3.10 WHIP and .471 BAA makes Stratton in 2025 look like a serviceable member of any major league pitching staff.

Bailey Falter's brief time with the Royals offered nothing to be excited about

Traded for at the trade deadline in 2025 to help shore up the Royals injury-depleted rotation, Falter hasn't remotely lived up to expectations while donning the blue and white. In fact, as Royals Review pointed out on X during Tuesday's game, few Royals pitchers in franchise history have looked as poor as Falter has over the past 10 months or so.

He started in the rotation and made just two starts, going a combined eight innings while surrendering nine earned runs off 11 hits and five walks. This would then lead to him being demoted to the bullpen, where he looked equally as uninspiring. In just two bullpen outings before having his 2025 season cut very short by injury, Falter gave up six earned runs on nine hits and two walks across just four innings of work.

He'd finish the year with an 11.25 ERA after joining the Royals. He'd then pick up right where he left off in 2026, getting injured early and looking uninspiring both starting and relieving on either end of his IL stint with a 13.97 ERA.

He's was injured more than he was available and looked extremely hittable when he was on the mound. The Royals may not have the best pitching depth to their name right now, but there was no point trying to get something out of nothing with Falter.

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