The Royals have agreed to a minor league contract with the right-hander Taylor Clarke last week, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The 31-year-old is returning to the organization after spending one season in the Milwaukee program.
Clarke, a former Diamondbacks draftee, pitched with Kansas City in 2022 and ’23. The first was the best season of his career. Clarke posted a 4.04 earned run average with stellar command throughout 49 innings of relief. He struggled in his follow-up campaign, allowing just six earned runs in nine over 59 frames. The Royals gave the Brewers the last season of the minor league. Clarke injured the meniscus in his right knee during Spring Training.
That required surgery, which led to Clarke starting the season on the minor league injured list. He struggled in Triple-A upon his return and lost his spot on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster in July. Clarke spent the rest of the season with his senior team in Nashville before entering free agency.
The Brewers used Clarke mostly without trading up in the minors. He started 15 of 22 outings, spanning 68 frames of 4.90 ERA ball. He pitched exceptionally well as a reliever or starter in his two seasons in Kansas City (and in his final year in Arizona). The Royals have more of a need for bullpen depth than a starter, so they may be targeting Clarke as a candidate for the middle innings job.
Clarke has strong command and has posted average strikeout rates in his two seasons in KC. He has hovered around 95-96 MPH with his hitter at short. That dropped to about 93-94 in Triple-A this year, which was to be expected as he worked his way deeper into games. Clarke struggled with the home run ball in all five of his MLB seasons, a big reason why his career ERA sits above 5.00.
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