The Royals designated pitcher Chris Stratton for assignment before Sunday’s game against the Cardinals to make room for reliever Jonathan Bowlan. The struggling Stratton had a 7.94 ERA with 29 hits allowed in 17 innings. Opponents were hitting .377/.425/.558 against him this year, and he has had a scoreless outing just in just four of his 12 appearances.
The Royals had hoped to upgrade their bullpen after the 2023 season, signing Stratton and Will Smith, along with trading for Nick Anderson. But all three proved to be disappointing, with Anderson released mid-season last year, and Smith allowed to depart as a free agent after last year. Stratton was coming off a solid season, winning a ring with the Texas Rangers in 2023 with a 3.92 ERA as a valuable member of the bullpen able to go multiple innings. The Royals signed him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with a $4.5 million player option for 2025.
But Stratton gave up two runs in his Royals debut and never seemed to get his season on track in 2024. He ended the year with a 5.55 ERA, ninth-worst among qualified relievers, with the third-worst strikeout-to-walk ratio. He exercised his player option, and the Royals gave him another shot to try to rebound in low-leverage situations – he had the lowest Average Leverage Index in baseball. But he gave up three more runs in a two-inning outing on Friday, leading to his removal from the roster.
Bowlan has been up briefly in each of the last three seasons for the Royals. He tossed two shutout innings against the Astros back on April 27 and had a 2.08 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 17 1⁄3 innings in 13 outings for Triple-A Omaha.
The Royals have seven days to trade Stratton or place him on waivers. In the unlikely circumstance he is claimed off waivers, the Royals would be relieved of his remaining salary. Otherwise, the Royals are stuck paying his remaining salary minus the minimum wage if he is picked up by another team after clearing waivers.