Royals Lose Former 20-Win Pitcher to Cubs in Free Agency

The Royals have an exciting young pitching staff, so the loss of Kyle Wright doesn't hurt too badly...

Sep 26, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A detail view of a tribute to Miami Marlin pitcher Jose Fernandez on the hat worn by Chicago Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. (not pictured) against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals have one of the more exciting young cores in baseball. Their team is built around superstar Bobby Witt Jr., who's quickly emerged as one of the best players in the game. Each year, Witt has a chance to take home the American League MVP award.

But the Royals have a lot to be excited about with their pitching staff, especially the duo of Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic.

Ragans is one of the best pitchers in the league when healthy. He was off to a fast start last season, but fell off track when he went down with an injury. Bubic was able to pitch more than Ragans last season, but injuries still kept him from seeing 30 starts.

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As a result, the Royals seemingly aren't too worried about losing veteran minor league pitchers in free agency.

Cubs land ex-Royals pitcher Kyle Wright in free agency

Feb 19, 2025; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kyle Wright (30) poses for a photo during media day. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that former Royals pitcher Kyle Wright was heading to the Chicago Cubs on a minor league deal.

"Kyle Wright to the Cubs. Minors deal with MLB camp invite. Wright is the majors’ last 20-game winner," Heyman wrote in a post to Twitter/X on Tuesday.

Wright has put together quite an interesting big-league career to this point. He's made appearances in six different seasons. In five of the six seasons, excluding 2022, he's appeared in less than 10 games each season and combined to be worth -1.2 WAR. In those five seasons mentioned, he's recorded three wins and suffered 11 losses.

But in 2022, he was spectacular. Wright was worth 3.7 WAR as he went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA across 30 starts. Heyman notes that Wright was MLB's last 20-game winner, but Spencer Strider actually recorded 20 wins in 2023, a year after Wright. Still, Wright's 21 win season in 2022 was incredible.

While he's struggled over the last few seasons, there's a chance the Cubs are able to get the best out of him. At worst, he's a solid depth option in Triple-A.

The Royals should be able to confidently lose him as Ragans and Bubic prepare for the season at full strength.

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