Surprising Royals Free Agency Prediction Lands Starter With 4.98 ERA In 2024
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Pitching has been the main focus of the Kansas City Royals' offseason. They're making sure their strength stays a strength.
While the Royals did sacrifice starting pitcher Brady Singer to trade for second baseman Jonathan India, every other major signing Kansas City has made has been on the mound. That includes bringing back 2024 starters Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen and signing closer Carlos Estévez to a two-year deal.
It would seem as though the Royals have enough starters to fill out a rotation, with Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, and potentially Kyle Wright competing for the number-five role. But as the old saying goes, you can never have too much pitching.
Does that mean the Royals could have one more free-agent signing up their sleeve?
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report seems to believe so. Miller predicted Wednesday that the Royals would sign Cal Quantrill, who was non-tendered earlier this offseason by the Colorado Rockies, to compete for a rotation spot.
"Keeping in mind that those numbers from last season were accumulated with the Rockies and that Quantrill had a 3.08 ERA in 368 innings pitched from 2020-22, there should be a fair amount of interest in the starting pitcher who turns 30 on Feb. 10," Miller wrote.
"(It is) still kind of hard to believe the Rockies non-tendered him instead of keeping him for his final year of arbitration eligibility, as he was undeniably one of their most valuable pitchers in 2024."
Quantrill, 29, had a 4.98 ERA in 29 starts for Colorado last season, dipping off sharply after the Rockies failed to move him at the trade deadline. As recently as 2022, though, he went 15-5 with a 2.89 ERA for a Cleveland Guardians team that won the American League Central.
It wouldn't necessarily be a bad financial risk for the Royals to take a shot at Quantrill. But if they were to sign him to even a one-year deal worth $5 million or less, Kansas City would still face questions as to why they didn't spend that money on upgrades to the offense.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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