Kansas City Royals, Reliever Taylor Clarke Agree to Deal to Avoid Arbitration
The Kansas City Royals and relief pitcher Taylor Clarke have agreed to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration, the club announced Saturday.
Clarke went 3-6 with a 5.95 ERA, 1.610 WHIP and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023, which was his second season in Kansas City. Over the course of his five years in the big leagues with the Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks, Clarke is 15-15 with a 5.03 ERA, 1.400 WHIP and 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 30-year-old Clarke was set to enter his first year of arbitration eligibility this winter, prior to the contract he inked Saturday. He will be arbitration eligible again next year, and he is slated to hit free agency after the 2025 season.
Clarke made $975K in 2022, then $1.15 million in 2023. MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported Monday that Clarke is due $1.25 million in 2024.
Clarke ranked second in appearances and innings among Royals relievers this past season with 58 and 59.0, respectively, although his -0.9 WAR suggests he wasn't particularly effective in that role. The first few months of Clarke's campaign went far smoother than the rest, however, considering he had a 2.90 ERA through 28 games on June 18.
In 2022, Clarke put up a 4.04 ERA and 0.6 WAR across 47 appearances and 49.0 innings.
The Royals have made the postseason just twice in the last 37 years, even though they emerged with a pair of American League pennants and a World Series title in those two playoff trips. Kansas City has finished dead last in the AL Central in each of the last two years, and their bullpen ranked No. 29 in the league with a 5.23 ERA.
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