Royals Get Intriguing Pitcher Back From Athletics After Rule 5 Draft Departure
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The Rule 5 draft in Major League Baseball is all about teams trying to pull a fast one on each other.
When certain players have been in the minor leagues with the same team for several years and have yet to be added to their team's 40-man roster, they can be claimed by another participating team in the Rule 5 draft, held each December.
This past December, the Royals lost right-handed pitcher Noah Murdock to the Athletics. But the catch of the system is that if at any point, the Athletics removed Murdock from the active 26-man roster, he would be returned to the Royals, assuming he cleared waivers.
That process unfolded on Monday, as after Murdock had been designated for assignment by the Athletics on Friday, he was returned to the Royals and assigned to Triple-A, according to the official MLB transactions log.
Murdock, 26, had an impressive campaign in 2024 as a reliever for Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. That prompted the Athletics to take a shot on him as an addition to their big-league bullpen, but things weren't going as planned.
In 14 appearances for the A's, Murdock pitched 17 innings, allowed 26 hits, racked up 20 walks, and allowed 25 earned runs, good for an ERA of 13.24.
The Royals will certainly welcome Murdock back to their system after he had a 3.16 ERA there last season, but the 6-foot-8, 205-pounder has a lot to prove before he can claim a spot in a big-league bullpen again after his rough A's stint.
The Rule 5 draft can mess up a player's development, forcing him to join a new organization and putting him under the pressure of performing at the big-league level when he may not yet be ready. Hopefully, that doesn't prove to be the case with Murdock.
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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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