Former Dodgers World Series Champion on the Move Again
Former Dodger Matt Beaty has found a new (old) home. This week, the 2020 World Series champion signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals, the team he was with in spring training this season. The move was made official via the team's transaction log.
Beaty has bounced around the league since coming up with the Dodgers in 2019. After spending the first three years of his career in Los Angeles — and winning the World Series with LA in 2020 — Beaty was shipped off to the San Diego Padres in a rare inter-division trade ahead of the 2022 season that brought RHP River Ryan to LA, who has been absolutely dominant in the minor leagues.
Beaty appeared in just 20 games with the Padres in 2022, hitting .093 with an OPS of .333 before his time in San Diego came to an end.
Then, he was with the Royals during spring training ahead of the 2023 season, but ended up joining the San Francisco Giants and making the team's Opening Day roster. However, he appeared in just four games with the Dodgers' biggest rival, going 1-for-5 with an RBI before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and getting sent outright to Triple-A.
Then, Beaty opted out of his minor league deal with San Francisco, and is now back with the team he began spring training with in Kansas City.
Beaty is 30 years old, so he'll be hoping to make another push and get back on an MLB roster. The Royals are one of the worst teams in baseball, so it'll be interesting to see if they give him a shot.
Overall, though, Beaty hasn't found any success since leaving LA. His best career seasons came in 2019 and 2021 with LA. In 2019, he slashed .265/.317/.458 with nine home runs and 45 RBI in 268 plate appearances. And in 2021, he slashed .270/.363/.402 with seven home runs and 40 RBI in 234 plate appearances.
Best of luck to Beaty in Kansas City!
