The Royals made a late spring trade on Friday, adding outfielder/first baseman Mark Canha from the Athletics in exchange for either a player to be named later or cash. Canha, 36, signed a minor league contract with Milwaukee back in February and now heads to Kansas City. The Royals held interest in Canha last offseason before he ultimately signed with the Tigers on a one-year contract. Midseason, Canha was traded to San Francisco, compiling a .242/.344/.346 slash line across 125 games. While the power output is far from stellar, Canha offers legitimate on-base ability. That on-base ability was reportedly a leading cause behind Kansas City’s interest last offseason.
Beyond on-base ability, Canha provides the Royals with another outfield depth option. This one, however, offers some positive offensive ability against left-handed pitching. In 2024 he slashed .275/.380/.395 against lefties with 17 walks (13.1%) and just 27 strikeouts (20.9%). Those numbers are well above Canha’s career slash of .244/.335/.428 against lefties but have trended upward as he’s reached the twilight of his big-league career.
The addition of Canha further muddies the Kansas City outfield. Already in the mix were corner outfielders Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez. Depth behind them — including Drew Waters, Joey Wiemer, Dairon Blanco, and Nelson Velázquez — have competed for an Opening Day roster spot much of the spring. Unfortunately, none of the four have been especially stellar. Canha’s minor league deal gives the Royals some flexibility potentially. It will depend on any sort of opt-out clause in the veteran’s deal. Should he be a candidate to move to Omaha, it could be a move that protects the Royals should Nelson Velázquez or Nick Pratto fail to clear waivers. Both players are out of options and also seem highly unlikely to make Kansas City’s Opening Day roster.
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