Kansas City Royals designate MLB veteran Mark Canha for assignment: Here’s why

Kansas City Royals outfielder Mark Canha returned from an injury-rehabilitation assignment on Monday and was then designated for assignment, the club announced before its series-opening home game against the Texas Rangers.

Canha, 36, was recovering from a left-elbow injury. He had been on the injury list since June 8, missing 32 major-league games.

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The Royals acquired the 10-year Major League Baseball veteran during spring training through a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. But Canha had hit just .212 in KC this season with one home run and six RBIs in 113 big-league at-bats.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said being designated for assignment will give Canha, who was playing for his sixth MLB team, an opportunity to join another major-league organization.

“We don’t have a clear opportunity for him for playing time,” Quatraro said. “At this point, that was the decision to make: to let him try to have an opportunity to find a big-league job elsewhere.”

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Quatraro praised Canha’s short stint with the club. The Royals brought him in, in part, to help set an example for younger teammates as a player with considerable major-league experience.

“Well, he certainly did nothing wrong in his professionalism or as a teammate,” Quatraro said. “He was great from day one. I think we signed him, the next day we went to Texas for those exhibition games and he was right there with the team when they went to Six Flags (amusement park).”

Canha — originally drafted in the seventh round by the then-Florida Marlins in 2010 — reached a big major-league milestone this season, joining the ranks of players with 10 years of MLB service time. That benchmark entitles major-leaguers to such perks as lifelong healthcare and a maximum pension.

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Canha made his big-league debut in 2015 with the Athletics. Since then, along with playing for the Royals and Brewers, he has also worn the uniforms of the New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants.

“He jumped right in and did everything he possibly could,” Quatraro said. “This has been a challenging year for him. Physically, he got hurt early on, came back and (had) limited playing time.”

There was another aspect of the Royals’ decision to DFA Canha, which Quatraro also touched on.

“We didn’t face many lefties, which was his specialty,” the manager said, “so he sat for longer periods of time and then got hurt again.

“It’s just been an up-and-down year for him. It’s certainly nothing he did wrong in any way.”