The Royals announced a series of major plans today. Striker Michael Massey he was returned to the injured list and the club opted to sign a midfielder CJ Alexander. In parallel moves, the club has placed a central/outside player Adam Frazier on the 10-day injured list due to a right thumb and designated hitter Nelson Velázquez to Triple-A Omaha. Making room for 40-man Alexander, who is left-handed Jake Brentz he was chosen for the assignment.
Velázquez, now 25, was acquired from the Cubs in a trade deadline last year in relief. José Cuas going the other way. It looked like the deal would work out well for the Royals, as Velázquez hit 14 runs in 40 games after the deal last year.
That seemed to set him up for a prominent role in Kansas City going forward but it didn't play out that way. He added eight more home runs this year but is hitting just .200/.274/.366 overall. Part of that may be his .237 batting average on balls in play but he's also not as strong as last year. He had a barrel rate of 21.4% in 2023 but that number dropped to 8.8% this year. His average exit velocity dropped about three miles per hour. His hard hitting rate dropped by more than ten points and his infield fly ball rate more than doubled.
The Royals have been great this year, currently 42-35 and a half game out of a playoff spot. However, their pitching has been their weakest link, something MLBTR's Steve Adams noted last month. Velázquez is a poor fielder and doesn't provide value on the basepaths, so going down at the plate has made him a big mistake in this year's lineup.
He'll head to Omaha to try to get things back on track, though this move may have some impact on him down the stretch. He entered the season with his career total at 1 year and 13 days, meaning he would have finished the campaign with 2.013 had he stayed the entire season. If this assignment lasts more than a few weeks, we will push back his route to free agency and/or arbitration. As it happened, Cuas also struggled with his new club and was assigned to the Cubs, having received a waiver request from the Blue Jays over the weekend.
As for Alexander, he gets to the majors just before his 28th birthday, which will come in July. A 20th-round pick in Atlanta in 2018, he came to the Royals in a 2022 trade that also sent him. Drew Waters to Kansas City. He's hitting .323/.369/.555 in Triple-A this year, boosted at least a little by a .400 batting average in balls in play, but impressive nonetheless.
He played four corners this year, but third base more than anywhere else. He is listed at the hot corner tonight Michael Garcia moved to second base and Massey on designated hitter. Massey will stick to the DH spot for now, according to MLB.com's Anne Rogers on the X. He came to IL last month because of a low back ligament sprain and says he feels good enough to swing the bat but is not going to make the cut. With Massey and Frazier both unable to play second, perhaps Garcia will get more regular time there with Alexander at third, though Garcia may return to the hot corner. Nick Loftin again Garrett Hampson taking time out of the keystone.
Entering Alexander in the 40 men, Brentz was ignored. The 29-year-old lefty had an encouraging major league debut in 2021, making 72 appearances with a 3.66 earned run average. His 13.3% walk rate was quite high but he struck out 27.3% of the batters he faced and kept 49% of the balls in play.
Unfortunately, he has had a challenging time since then. He went on the injured list in early 2022 and eventually required Tommy John surgery that summer. He did not receive a tender at the end of that season and re-signed a two-year contract. He started a rehabilitation program in August 2023 but was severely blocked, unable to return to the big league club.
Here in 2024, he suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in mid-March, which sent him back to IL to start the season. He started a rehab assignment about a month later and was optioned to Omaha when he was reinstated to IL.
The results have been poor so far, with a 12.71 ERA through 17 innings on the farm this year. He has struck out 15 batters but issued 30 walks, struck out nine batters with pitches and threw two wild pitches.
Some rust after so much missed time is understandable but the Royals clearly see this as too much. They now have a week to trade Brentz or move him off waivers. He still has plenty of options and could appeal to a club that believes in things and is patient enough to let him get back on track.
If he were to go through an unclaimed waiver, he has more than three years of service time so he can opt for a free offer instead of accepting a direct assignment. However, since he has less than five years of service, doing so would mean losing the remainder of his salary. As part of that aforementioned two-year deal he signed with the Royals, he's making $1.05MM this year with more than half a million remaining to be paid. He probably wouldn't want to part with that money and might accept an outright share if no other party wanted to stop him.
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