Royals release 2 veterans who were competing for Opening Day roster spots

The Kansas City Royals are just four days out from Opening Day, and while some roster cuts are brutal decisions as the deadline creeps closer, other cuts make themselves. On March 23, the Royals announced on social media that catcher Luke Maile and pitcher Ross Stripling had "requested to be released, per their contracts," and "the club is granting those releases."

KC Royals release catcher Luke Maile

The Royals signed Maile to a minor league deal on February 16, becoming the catcher's seventh organization since he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2012 MLB Draft. Having made his major league debut with the Rays in 2015, Maile has had stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates (minors only), Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, and Cincinnati Reds throughout his career, and became a free agent at the end of 2024 after the Reds declined the 2025 option on his contract.

In 2024 with the Reds, Maile posted an abysmal .178/.268/.252 slashline with 2 home runs, 8 RBI, and 2 stolen bases across 154 plate appearances, bringing his career batting average to .208 across 9 seasons in the majors. Maile also struggled defensively last season, and while he was a generally reliable defender early in his career, he finished 2024 with a worrying -5 DRS.

Aside from an extremely shaky record of performance, Maile has dealt with a number of injuries over the years, including a torn meniscus in 2017, an oblique injury in 2019, and season-ending finger surgery in 2020.

Considering the Royals have Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin locked in as their catchers this season, Maile was never likely to see much — if any — major league action this season in Kansas City.

KC Royals release pitcher Ross Stripling

Three days after signing Maile, the Royals announced they had signed pitcher Ross Stripling to a minor league deal for 2025. Coming off a career-worst season with the Athletics in 2024, Stripling had a lot to prove at spring training, but it quickly became clear that he was unlikely to earn an Opening Day spot with the Royals.

Stripling made his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, and after finishing his rookie season with a 3.96 ERA and 74 strikeouts across 100.0 innings, he became a crucial part of the team's bullpen for 2017, before heading back to the rotation in 2018. The right-hander earned an All-Star selection for his 2018 campaign, which he finished with a 3.02 ERA, 136 strikeouts, and a 4.4% walk rate — ranking in the top 4% of all qualified pitchers that season — across 122.0 innings.

After being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 and becoming a free agent at the end of 2022, Stripling signed with the San Francisco Giants before the 2023 season. Unfortunately, that's when things started to fall apart.

Stripling posted an abysmal 0-5 record and 5.36 ERA across 11 starts in 2023, resulting in the Giants trading him to the Athletics at the end of the season. Last year, he accumulated a worrying 2-11 win-loss record, 6.01 ERA, and just 49 strikeouts in 85.1 innings across 22 games (14 starts).

It was always a long shot that Stripling would redeem himself enough at spring training to make the Royals' Opening Day roster. Now, he'll have to try his luck with another organization.