Royals' starting pitching pursuit continues after latest trade with Pirates

The Kansas City Royals entered Thursday's MLB trade deadline with an extremely bleak starting pitching situation. With ace Cole Ragans having been on the the injured list since the beginning of June, the Royals had also added both Michael Lorenzen and Kris Bubic to the shelf since the All-Star break - with Bubic reportedly being out for the rest of the season, as per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

However, J.J. Picollo and the front office got to work on Thursday to fill the holes and bridge the gap until the respective returns of Ragans and Lorenzen.

They started by trading Freddy Fermin to the Padres for a pair of promising arms in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek.

But in the 11th hour, the Royals squeezed their most impactful deal under the line after acquiring left-hand starter Bailey Falter from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for reliever Evan Sisk and first base prospect Callan Moss, as initially reported first by Jeff Passan of ESPN with the return then confirmed later by the team.

Bailey Falter headlines Royals starting pitching acquisitions on deadline day

After the trio of Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Noah Cameron there was a notable gap in filling the final rotation spots. The reliance was on bullpen days or unreliable spot starts which was not a sustainable practice for a team with postseason aspirations.

While Bergert and Kolek will help fill those vacant roles to a more sutainable degree, Falter gives them a much more established name to really feel comfortable with, and one that the Royals can feel they have a shot to win on four out of five times through the rotation.

Falter's been around the league for five seasons now, but has really come into his own in the last two years with the Pirates. After a serviceable 4.43 ERA season in Pittsburgh in 2024, Falter is sporting a 3.73 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and .228 BAA through 22 starts so far this year.

He doesn't hold the greatest underlying metrics by any means, but he's found a way to be successful regardless and his 113.1 innings this season has proven he's an innings eater, which is all the Royals can ask for right now.

In return, the Royals didn't sacrifice anything too heavy in order to obtain Falter's services. Evan Sisk is the most notable name here, due to his limited time in the majors this season.

In 5.1 innings across five appearances, he proved to be up to the task of big leagues, throwing to a 1.69 ERA and 1.78 FIP. However his 1.88 WHIP thanks to 8.44 BB/9 had to have played a factor into why he hadn't been called back up to the majors since the end of May - paired of course with the reliability and success of other midseason call-ups like Steven Cruz, Taylor Clarke and Jonathan Bowlan. He was simply an expendable arm, especially after the depth acquisitions of Bergert and Kolek.

Also headed Pittsburgh's way is Callan Moss, a first base prospect who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2024. In 92 games at High-A Quad City this year, Moss is hitting .270 with seven homers, 70 RBI, 14 stolen bases, a .790 OPS and 123 wRC+. Promising numbers, but considering he was an undrafted prospect from a year ago, he was definitely an expendable piece.

Now the Royals can feel confident that they at least have the pitching tools to go out and more adequately compete for a postseason spot down the stretch.