Royals Earn Praise for “Sneaky Good” Trade for $2 Million Starter
The Kansas City Royals made a smart move to strengthen their starting rotation. As August progresses, the Royals find themselves 8 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and 3 1/2 games back from the final Wild Card spot.
Heading into the trade deadline, the Royals were expected to be sellers, but instead, they surprised many by making moves to improve their roster. They brought in Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier to boost the offense and added Bailey Falter to reinforce their pitching staff.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently praised the Royals for acquiring Falter, calling it a “sneaky good” trade. Although Falter’s statistics aren’t eye-popping, with a 4.87 FIP suggesting potential regression, he is considered a reliable, league-average pitcher capable of eating innings.
“His numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s a solid back-end starter,” Reuter said. “With multiple pitchers like Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Michael Lorenzen, and Alec Marsh on the injured list, Falter will help absorb innings for the Royals down the stretch. Next spring, he could compete for a spot in the rotation or a multi-inning role in the bullpen.”
The 28-year-old left-hander is currently 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA through 22 starts and has 70 strikeouts in 113 1/3 innings.
Falter is set to make his debut for the Royals on Monday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and it will be intriguing to see how he performs as he slots into their rotation for the remainder of the season.
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