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Kansas City Royals Add Two Players to Organization
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- Kansas City Royals Add Two Players to Organization
(© William Purnell-Imagn Images)
The Kansas City Royals could not have had a worse month of May. Even with Saturday's win over the Seattle Mariners , Kansas City still sits at 21-31, 10 games under the .500 mark.
The offense has remained inconsistent this year, and the pitching staff has completely unraveled. The bullpen in particular has been a major liability, struggling to hold leads and keep the team in games late.
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It is also shorthanded, as their biggest bullpen addition of the offseason, left-hander Matt Strahm , is currently on the 15-day injured list.
With so much going wrong, the Royals decided to add reinforcements to strengthen their organizational depth and potentially help the big-league club.
"We have signed RHP Luke Jackson and LHP Genesis Cabrera to minor league contracts," the Raising Royals (Kansas City's player development account) wrote on X.
Both pitchers arrive as low-risk additions who could become options later in the season. Luke Jackson opted out of his deal with the New York Mets last week, while Genesis Cabrera had been pitching on a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies before being released. Both are expected to report to Triple-A Omaha to begin their tenures in Kansas City.
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Jackson missed all of spring training this year due to being unsigned. He eventually landed with the Mets in April and made eight appearances in the minors. He struggled across 7 2/3 innings, posting a 7.04 ERA. It is clear that the Royals made the move based off his past success. Jackson owns a career 4.22 ERA across 10 years in MLB spent with the Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , San Francisco Giants , Seattle Mariners and Detroit TIgers .
He missed all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and his results have been inconsistent since, but he has a long track record of handling high-leverage innings.
Cabrera struggled mightily in Triple-A with Philadelphia, but the Royals likely see upside in the 29-year-old southpaw. He has spent six seasons in the big leagues, beginning with the St. Louis Cardinals where he spent five years before becoming a journeyman. He had the most success during the 2023-24 seasons with the Blue Jays, where he owned a 3.34 ERA in 86 1/3 innings.
With the Royals bullpen posting one of the worst ERAs in the league and multiple relievers on the injured list, bringing in experienced arms makes sense. If the need arises, Jackson or Cabrera could find themselves in Kansas City sooner rather than later.
