The Royals didn’t select within the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft, and misplaced right-handed pitcher Noah Murdock to the Athletics. Murdock should stay on the Athletics’ roster or Injured Checklist all season or be provided again to the Royals.
The 26-year-old was a seventh-round decide by the Royals out of the College of Virginia in 2019. He battled inconsistency and accidents his first few seasons, and moved from a beginning position to the bullpen in 2023. However this yr he appeared to show a nook, posting a 3.16 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings in 46 appearances throughout Double-A and Triple-A. His excessive stroll charges stay a problem, nevertheless. Fangraphs ranked him because the #39 prospect within the group final summer season, writing that he “lacks any semblance of precision in his operation and his pure strike-throwing chops are unstable, probably limiting him to an up/down reduction position.”
The Royals had two open spots on the 40-man roster, however with the workforce in “win-now” mode, it might not have made sense taking of venture on an unproven participant. The Royals did make two alternatives within the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft, which has no roster requirement.
They chose outfielder Bryan Gonzalez from the Pink Sox and right-handed pitcher Landon Marceaux from the Mets. Gonzalez is a 23-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder who hit .272/.337/.508 with 20 dwelling runs and 15 steals in 91 video games at Excessive-A. He has good energy however was outdated for his degree and strikes out so much. Marceaux was drafted within the third spherical out of LSU by the Angels however went to the Mets in a commerce for infielder Eduardo Escobar. He had a 2.98 ERA in 90.2 innings in 18 begins in Excessive-A and Double-A in 2022, however struggled the following yr and missed all of this yr on account of damage. The 25-year-old has low strikeout charges however was a strike-thrower when wholesome.
Different Royals that had been eligible to be chosen within the MLB Rule 5 draft however went unselected embody catcher Luca Tresh, infielders Cam Devanney and Tyler Tolbert, outfielder John Rave, and pitchers Chandler Champlain, Tyson Guerrero, Ben Hernandez, Anthony Simonelli, and Jacob Wallace.
Listed below are the outcomes from the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft.
Spherical 1
1. White Sox: Shane Smith, RHP (from Brewers)
2. Marlins: Liam Hicks, C (Tigers)
3. Angels: Garrett McDaniels, LHP (Dodgers)
4. Athletics: Noah Murdock, RHP (Royals)
5. Nationals: Evan Reifert, RHP (Rays)
6. Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, RHP (Pink Sox)
7. Reds: Cooper Bowman, 2B (A’s)
8. Rays: Nathan Lavender, LHP (Mets)
9. Twins: Eiberson Castellano, RHP (Phillies)
10. Cubs: Gage Workman, SS (Tigers)
11. Braves: Anderson Pillar, RHP (Marlins)
12. Padres: Juan Nunez, RHP (Orioles)
13. Brewers: Connor Thomas, LHP (Cardinals)
14. Phillies: Mike Vasil, RHP (Mets)
Spherical 2
15. Braves: Christian Cairo, SS (Guardians)
