Royals Lose 26-Year-Old Free Agent to White Sox After Injury
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Rylan Kaufman's Kansas City Royals career began in the 2018 draft, and it came to a close last week.
Kaufman, who was a 12th-round pick for the Royals out of San Jacinto College, pitched 68 games in the Kansas City organization, and generally struggled to keep runs off the board. He also managed big strikeout totals, which is typically a good way to keep a minor-league career alive.
After missing all of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Kaufman reportedly secured his first professional contract with a team other than the Royals on Friday.
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White Sox pick up ex-Royals lefty Kaufman
According to Ari Alexander of WHDH-TV, Alexander agreed to a minor-league deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Chicago, which has finished in last place in the American League Central in each of the last two years, has more openings in its projected rotation over the next few seasons than the Royals do, and the same could be said of the bullpen.
Kaufman made 56 starts for Kansas City's farm teams and only pitched out of the bullpen 12 times. He put up a 4-19 record on the mound and pitched to a 5.41 ERA, and on the surface, those numbers wouldn't necessarily keep his career progressing forward.
However, Kaufman has piled up 271 strikeouts in 243 innings. He's never been hit too hard, but his 135 walks have proven to be extremely costly.
After a year away, and having only pitched 3 1/3 innings in Double-A for the Royals in 2024, it's hard to know what the White Sox are getting in this 26-year-old. He's not likely going to have a chance to compete for the major league roster in spring training, but that doesn't mean he can't have an impact eventually.
Pitchers, perhaps more than anyone at another position across major professional sports, are judged based on their potential more than their results. Kaufman's potential has kept him in affiliated ball for nearly eight years, but it would be good to start putting up results soon.
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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