The Royals announced today that outfielder Mark Canha, who was on the 10-day injured list, has been returned from his rehab assignment and designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.
Canha, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He had a looming opt-out date just before Opening Day but the Brewers evidently weren’t willing to give him a roster spot. They flipped Canha for a player to be named later or cash. The Royals gave him a roster spot to prevent him from opting out and later announced minor league righty Cesar Espinal as the PTBNL.
The deal hasn’t worked out for the Royals. Canha has twice gone on the IL, once for a left adductor strain and more recently due to left elbow epicondylitis. Around those IL stints, he stepped to the plate 125 times but produced a dismal .212/.272/.265 line.
The club’s outfield performed quite poorly throughout the first half of the season, with Canha’s production just part of the picture. His most recent IL stint began in early July. While he was on the shelf, a lot changed, with the Royals trading for Adam Frazier, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk. Canha started a rehab assignment a little over a week ago. However, with the new additions to the roster, they have decided they don’t have room for him anymore.
He now heads into DFA limbo. With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll be placed on waivers. Given his performance and $1.4MM salary this year, it seems unlikely any club would claim him. If he clears, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and keep that money coming to him. It’s possible the Royals skip that formality and simply release him.
If he ends up on the open market, either by rejecting an outright assignment or being released, the Royals will remain on the hook for that money. At that point, another club could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated $760K league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Royals pay.
Canha has plenty of good seasons on his track record and was a solid player as recently as last year. He split 2024 between the Tigers and Giants, slashing .242/.344/.346 for a 102 wRC+. He also stole seven bases and played all four corner spots. He hasn’t been at that level in 2025 but perhaps there’s a club out there who will focus more on the larger body of work.
Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images