#kansas-city-royals

#kansas-city-royals

It's a logical target for the club. The outfield in Kansas City has been a weak spot for years. 2025 was no exception. The team's outfielders had a collective .225/.285/.348 batting line this year. That resulted in a 73 wRC+, indicating the club's outfield group was 27% worse than league average. That was easily the worst mark in the majors, with the Guardians' jardineros second-last with a wRC+ of 77.

The Royals announced that they have acquired right-hander Mason Black from the Giants. Minor league righty Logan Martin heads in the other direction. The Giants designated Black for assignment last week. The Royals' 40-man roster count climbs from 36 to 37. Black, 26 next month, joins a new organization for the first time in his career. The Giants took him with a third-round pick in 2021. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he was generally regarded as one of the club's top ten prospects.

Wright will depart from the organization without making a big-league appearance. Kansas City acquired him in a November 2023 trade that sent Jackson Kowar to the Braves. Wright was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time. He did not throw a pitch in 2024. Wright made eight appearances at two minor-league levels in 2025, but an oblique injury ended his season in July.

It was a disappointing season, though Kansas City really performed rather admirably considering that they got just 13 starts out of staff ace Cole Ragans while found himself sidelined for the second half by an injury of his own. While health in the rotation helped to sink the team this year, it's possible that the team's deep arsenal of starters could help them reinvent the team on the trade market as they look ahead to 2026.

What makes the Brewers the favorite to secure the majors' best record? Besides the buffer the Brewers have built as we enter the final month of the regular season, there's just nothing to suggest a falloff. They are on track to win about 100 games and their run differential supports that pace. The remaining schedule is friendly. And Milwaukee's production has come from every position and category. It's just a really complete team. -- Bradford Doolittle

KANSAS CITY -- Kauffman Stadium remains a gorgeous place to watch a ballgame. Sunk into a sea of asphalt in Jackson County, Missouri, some things at The K have changed since it opened in 1973: the name, the color of the seats, the spaces beyond the outfield walls. Essential parts remain: the fountains, the crown-shaped scoreboard, the upsloping green of the hills that give the home of the Kansas City Royals the most pastoral feel of any Major League Baseball venue.

14-year Royals veteran catcher Salvador Perez remains on record-watch in a number of different statistical categories. Tonight, Salvy passed Amos Otis for the third-most RBI's in Royals history with 993. Another player fans likely had their eyes on was right-handed rookie pitcher Ryan Bergert. Coming into the series finale, he was yet to make it through innings at the big-league level, and yet to tally his first win as a Royal. He did both in Chicago tonight.

To gain more ground, though, they'll have to go through the division-leading 76-53 Detroit Tigers as they begin a short roadtrip to Detroit followed by Chicago (AL). The Tigers are also 8-2 in their last 10 games and are riding a three-game winning streak. The Royals will start Ryan Bergert in their continued pursuit of the Mariners. Bergert has been a bit of a revelation after his acquisition, having three very solid starts for the Royals so far in August.

The Twins claimed righty Thomas Hatch off waivers from the Royals, who had designated him for assignment. The corresponding roster move will be announced later.

Danny Neagle started his outing for New York by working around a couple of knocks, initially facing some pressure before settling into the game, but the damage had already been done.

Krehbiel has a 3.65 ERA in 74 big league innings spread across parts of four seasons, most recently pitching for the 2022-23 Orioles.