photo: Conner Greene (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Kansas City Royals press release
The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have claimed right-handed pitcher Conner Greene off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. In a corresponding move, the club has designated right-handed pitcher Burch Smith for assignment.
Greene, 23, split the 2018 season between Memphis (AAA) and Springfield (AA), going 4-5 with a 4.09 ERA (40 ER in 88.0 IP) in 40 appearances (10 starts). This included posting a 2.52 ERA (7 ER in 25.0 IP) and a .185 opponents’ average (15-for-81) in his first 19 appearances after being promoted to Memphis on June 4. He also made nine relief appearances for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, going 0-2 with a save and an 11.17 ERA (12 ER in 9.2 IP).
Smith, 28, was acquired by the Royals during the 2017 Rule 5 Draft and was 1-6 with a 6.92 ERA (60 ER in 78.0 IP) in 38 appearances (six starts) for Kansas City in 2018.
Following today’s transactions, the Royals have 40 players on their Major League reserve list.
Brian Walton’s take
OK, this is kind of weird – posting a second Royals press release on a Cardinals site in the same week. Of course, this follows Kansas City’s hiring of Mike Matheny as a special advisor.
Given Greene’s upper 90’s fastball, his appeal to a building club like the Royals makes sense. Just as it was for the Cardinals a year ago, when he was part of the Randal Grichuk trade with Toronto, the Royals must believe they can help Greene unlock his control.
For those who want to read more about Greene, he was named The Cardinal Nation’s 38th-ranked prospect for 2019.
In the other related move, right-handed reliever Derian Gonzalez cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Memphis. Both he and Greene were designated for assignment last Tuesday, November 20. The purpose was to clear 40-man roster space for the addition of other prospects. More details on those moves here.
Gonzalez is TCN’s no. 50 prospect for 2019.
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter.
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