Two Royals pitchers opt for free agency as KC claims right-hander from Houston
Kansas City Royals veteran pitchers Mike Montgomery and Kevin McCarthy became free agents in a series of moves Friday afternoon as the club begins setting the table for the offseason.
The Royals assigned Montgomery, a left-hander, and McCarthy, a right-hander, outright to Triple-A Omaha, but both opted for free agency rather than accept their assignments.
The Royals also claimed right-handed pitcher Carlos Sanabria off waivers from the Houston Astros. Sanabria, 23, made his MLB debut this season with two relief appearances for the Astros. MLBPipeline.com ranked Sanabria, a 6-foot-3 native of Venezuela, the Astros 30th-best prospect. He has shown a four-pitch mix in the minors that includes a fastball that sits in the low to mid 90s as well as a changeup, slider and curveball.
Left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin, right-hander Glenn Sparkman and right-hander Kyle Zimmer were all reinstated from the 45-day injured list to the 40-man roster, a paper move the club was required to make by Sunday.
The Royals now have 39 men on their 40-man roster. Clubs have until Nov. 20 to set that roster and protect players in advance of the Rule 5 Draft in December.
The Royals’ August trade with the San Diego Padres included a player to be named later, and it’s unclear if that player will need to be protected on the 40-man roster. That transaction has not been finalized as minor-league contracts are currently frozen by MLB.
Both Montgomery and McCarthy were arbitration eligible this winter. Montgomery was projected to make as much as $3.1 million next season while McCarthy’s projected salary ranged from $700,000 to $800,000.
Montgomery entered this past season as a projected starter prior to a lat injury which sidelined him for the vast majority of the pandemic-shortened season. He pitched through the injury early in the season, and he returned and pitched out of the bullpen in the final week.
Montgomery, 31, allowed three runs and five hits in two innings in his lone start. He pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed one hit, one walk and struck out three in two relief outings.
McCarthy, 28, appeared in five games out of the bullpen this past season. He posted a 4.50 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP, two strikeouts, two walks and 10 hits in six innings. His last outing came on Aug. 6, and the Royals optioned him to their alternate site on Aug. 19.
In 2019, McCarthy made 56 appearances for the Royals. He was one of their most steady performers out of the bullpen in 2018, when he posted a 3.25 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 72 innings.
Entering Friday, 160 MLB players received free-agent status at the start of this offseason.
Mets sold
Major League Baseball released a statement announcing approval of the new New York Mets ownership group, led by billionaire Steve Cohen. The approval is contingent upon the closing of the sale transaction with the current owners of the Mets, which is expected within the next 10 days.
Cohen’s ownership reportedly faced a potential hurdle in receiving needed approval from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio due to Cohen’s past business dealings, but de Blasio said in a statement, “The New York City Law Department has completed its legal review of the proposed sale of the Mets. New York City does not object to the sale, and the Mets may proceed with the transaction.”
MLB Meetings
MLB announced Friday that the Owners Meetings and Winter Meetings have both been postponed as in-person events, and both meetings will be conducted remotely. The Owners Meetings were scheduled for November 17-19 in Arlington, Texas, while the Winter Meetings had been scheduled for December 7-10 in Dallas.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Two Royals pitchers opt for free agency as KC claims right-hander from Houston."
