The Royals are bolstering their outfield with a pair of veterans, as Okay.C. has claimed each Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers. The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported (X hyperlink) that Pham was claimed off the Cardinals’ waiver wire after St. Louis designated him for project yesterday, and MLB.com’s Anne Rogers (by way of X) reported that the Royals additionally claimed Grossman away from the Rangers. Texas positioned Grossman on outright waivers on Thursday.
As a result of these additions had been made earlier than September 1, Pham and Grossman could be eligible for the Royals’ postseason roster if Okay.C. makes it into the playoff bracket. Coming off a dismal 106-loss season in 2023, the Royals have already far surpassed final 12 months’s win whole by posting a 75-61 report — Kansas Metropolis is in possession of the second AL wild card berth, and sit 2.5 video games behind the Guardians for first place within the AL Central.
Regardless of this success, the outfield has been a transparent weak hyperlink for Okay.C. for a lot of the season, and the ranks bought even additional thinned when Hunter Renfroe was positioned on the injured checklist final week. Past shedding Renfroe, the Royals’ lineup took one other massive hit when Vinnie Pasquantino suffered a damaged thumb Thursday and can possible miss the remainder of the common season.
The Royals had been one in every of a number of groups who had curiosity in Pham previous to the commerce deadline, when Pham was a really apparent commerce candidate as a veteran rental on a rebuilding White Sox crew. The Cardinals ended up with Pham and Erick Fedde as a part of a three-team commerce involving the Dodgers and White Sox on the deadline, as St. Louis hoped that Pham and right-hander Erick Fedde may enhance each the lineup and rotation heading into the playoff stretch.
Sadly for Playing cards Nation, no surge materialized, because the Cardinals have an 11-16 report in August. Pham himself didn’t present a lot assist, hitting .206/.286/.368 over 77 plate appearances throughout his transient stint in a St. Louis uniform.
Since Pham each wished extra taking part in time and wished to hitch a contender, he mentioned the potential for a launch with the Cardinals, and that want has now been absolutely granted with the transfer throughout Missouri to the Royals. From the Cardinals’ perspective, parting methods with Pham each created extra outfield taking part in time for Jordan Walker, and saved a little bit of payroll. Pham has roughly $480K remaining on his authentic $3MM wage for the 2024 season, and Kansas Metropolis will now foot the remainder of that invoice.
The switch-hitting Grossman additionally started his season as a member of the White Sox, however was traded in Could again to the Rangers, as Texas was skinny on right-handed hitting. Grossman was a recognized amount in Arlington after being a daily for the 2023 World Sequence crew, and he posted comparable numbers in his second go-around as a Ranger, batting .238/.336/.362 over 122 PA for Texas this season.
The Rangers’ protection of their title has fallen far in need of expectations, and thus the crew put each Grossman and fellow outfielder Travis Jankowski on outright waivers to see if one other crew would clear just a few {dollars} off the Rangers’ books. Grossman has about $240K remaining of his $1.5MM base wage, so it makes for one more cheap add for the Royals.
Grossman has continued to mash left-handed pitching and Pham has continued to publish stable numbers in opposition to southpaws as properly, giving Kansas Metropolis two new choices to work throughout the lineup. Both participant may slot into Renfroe’s position as a daily proper fielder who cedes some at-bats in opposition to righties to Adam Frazier, or both Pham or Grossman may spell MJ Melendez (one other left-handed bat) in left subject. With the DH spot additionally up for grabs, it isn’t laborious to think about Pham or Grossman transferring into roughly on a regular basis roles, at the least till Renfroe is ready to return.
The Royals would be the ninth crew Pham has suited up with on the MLB stage over the course of his 11 massive league seasons, whereas Grossman is becoming a member of his eighth crew in a 12-year profession within the Present. The duo carry loads of expertise to a younger Royals crew, and we simply have to look again to 2023 to see how Grossman and Pham (after he joined the Diamondbacks) may help out a playoff contender.
With a playoff berth hanging within the steadiness, normal supervisor J.J. Picollo has now moved aggressively to try to handle his crew’s lineup wants earlier than the September 1 cutoff date. Relying on what occurs within the pennant race, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Royals make different additions to try to simply get into October, even when any newcomers after September 1 wouldn’t be a part of any playoff rosters.
