The Kansas City Royals announced multiple roster moves Monday afternoon following a 2-7 road trip. The team removed Michael Massey from the injured list and called up infielder CJ Alexander to the big league roster. In corresponding moves, Adam Frazier was placed on the 10-day injured list, Nelson Velázquez was optioned to Omaha (AAA), and Jake Brentz was designated for assignment.
The Royals, currently in the midst of a 22-scoreless inning streak as an offense, couldn’t ask for a better time to get Massey back into the lineup. After missing the beginning of the season due to injury, Massey batted .291 with six home runs in just 102 at-bats before injuring his back on May 24th in Tampa Bay. With Adam Frazier heading to the IL with a right thumb strain, Massey presumably will be the everyday second baseman moving forward. CJ Alexander gets the call-up to the big league roster after posting an impressive .323 batting average with a .924 OPS. Alexander was acquired by the Royals in a trade with the Braves in 2022 that included the likes of Drew Waters and Andrew Hoffman.
Making roster space, the Royals sent down outfielder/DH Nelson Velázquez to Omaha and designated reliever Jake Brentz for assignment. Velázquez was brought in via trade from the Cubs in 2023 and impressed with 14 home runs in just 147 at-bats to end the season. This season hasn’t been as kind to Nelson, posting a negative WAR and posting an OPS+ of just 78 (the league average is 100).
Jake Brentz, who hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Royals since early 2022, was taken off the 40-man roster to create space for Alexander. This comes after Brentz missed the majority of 2022 and all of 2023 with Tommy John surgery. The lefty was hoping to make his comeback this season, but a grade-two hamstring strain in spring training landed him back on the IL.
The Royals lineup for their series opener against the Miami Marlins will have Massey batting fifth and playing DH and Alexander batting eighth and playing third in his MLB debut.
