The Royals announced that right-handers Ryan Bergert and Mason Black have both been optioned to Triple-A Omaha. The two of them will begin the 2026 season as rotation depth options for the club.
The two came into camp blocked for rotation roles. Their only real path would be if someone ahead of them got injured. The Royals have been fortunate in that regard and should start the season with their projected top five of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron. The most notable injury in camp thus far was an oblique strain for Stephen Kolek, who was likely ticketed for Triple-A.
With five healthy guys in the rotation, that squeezes Bergert and Black to the minors, where they should be joined by Ben Kudrna, Luinder Avila and Mitch Spence. Spence and Avila haven’t been officially optioned yet but Avila has been away from the club, playing for Venezuela in their World Baseball Classic championship run. Kolek can jump into that mix whenever he’s healthy.
With all of those depth options, it leaves Bailey Falter in an interesting spot. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Royals have considered using him as a sixth starter or long reliever but are also open to trading him.
Falter has been a serviceable but not dominant pitcher in his career. In 466 innings, he has allowed 4.58 earned runs per nine. His 6.9% walk rate is quite strong but he has only punched out 17.8% of batters faced.
Kansas City traded for Falter at last year’s deadline when Bubic, Ragans and Michael Lorenzen were all on the injured list. Lorenzen came back a few weeks later, which got Falter nudged to the bullpen. After two relief outings, Falter himself landed on the IL due to a left bicep contusion. He spent a little more than a month on the IL to finish the season.
Falter is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors. That means the Royals have to keep him on the active roster or else remove him from the 40-man entirely. A trade would be one way to do that but his value probably isn’t terribly high. As mentioned, his results have been more passable than great. He can’t be optioned down to Triple-A and is going to make $3.6MM this year.
While there are certainly other teams who could use some extra depth, they have other options. Free agency still has guys like Lucas Giolito, Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin out there. As Opening Day nears, there are some veterans who could opt out of minor league deals. Some arms will also end up on waivers as teams make their final roster decisions as well.
Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images
