Kansas City Royals surprisingly release Clay Buchholz

The Kansas City Royals made the surprising decision to let Clay Buchholz become a free agent instead of bringing him up to the major league roster on his cut off date.

Given the status of the Kansas City Royals rotation, it seemed to be a matter of time until Clay Buchholz found his way to the majors. Eric Skoglund has been a disaster thus far as the Royals fifth starter, posting a 6.23 ERA, albeit with a 1.200 WHiP. Amazingly, that ERA is lower than his career mark of 7.71, leaving one to wonder if Skoglund is truly cut out to be a part of a major league rotation.

With Buchholz waiting in the wings in Omaha, it seemed that Skoglund’s time would be coming to an end shortly. The former Red Sox starter was pitching in Omaha, getting back in shape for a return to the majors. As his minor league deal included an opt out on May 1 if he was not on the Royals major league roster, his ascension was expected. Instead, the Royals made the surprising decision to let Buchholz go.

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Taking a look at Buchholz’ numbers in his time in the minors, it would seem to be a surprise that the Royals are letting him go. He posted a 1.13 ERA, allowing just ten hits in his 16 innings. However, Buchholz also allowed seven walks while striking out only nine batters. Those numbers were far worse at Ohama, where Buchholz had allowed nine hits and five walks in 11.1 innings, with only four strikeouts. Given that performance, one could see where the Royals cooled on their opinion of the former All Star.

It also makes sense that the Royals would want to see what they have in their younger starters. Pitchers like Skoglund, Trevor Oaks, and Jake Junis are going to be the future of the franchise, for better or worse. Buchholz would be a bandaid, someone that the Royals would hope to get two or three good months out of, then trade at the deadline.

Of course, this may also mean that the Royals have finally decided on a direction in their rebuild. During the offseason, they straddled that line, bringing back Mike Moustakas,and signing players like Jon Jay and Lucas Duda. Of course, sitting firmly in the bottom of the AL Central has a way of making that decision for them.

Next: Royals face obstacles in potential Moustakas trade

The Kansas City Royals have moved on from Clay Buchholz. For better or for worse, they are riding the rotation they currently have.