Free agency just dealt Royals another blow to their bullpen depth

Baseball’s winter is off to its usual slow start. Save for the Marcus Semien-Brandon Nimmo deal between the Rangers and Mets, which may end up impacting the Kansas City Royals, and Taylor Ward moving from the Angels to the Orioles, few trades and free agent signings have seriously piqued the interest of KC baseball fans.

That’s not to say, though, that all is quiet on the Royals front. The club is seeking a platoon partner for Jac Caglianone, still needs a good left field bat, and may have to sacrifice a starting pitcher in trade to bolster its offense.

And the Royals’ bullpen depth is decreasing. Sam Long became a free agent after the club tried to outright him earlier this month and is now off to Japan, Taylor Clarke didn’t survive last week’s contract tender deadline, and Hunter Harvey is a free agent. And the uncertainty surrounding James McArthur, who hasn’t pitched since injuring his elbow in 2024, only increases the depth concern.

Now, add another hit. Triple-A reliever Jacob Wallace, who received some attention as a potential 2025 September roster expansion callup candidate, is also moving on — after becoming a free agent at season’s end, he’s signed a minor league contract with Atlanta and now appears on Triple-A Gwinnett’s roster.

But considering he never threw a big league pitch for the Royals, what does his departure mean?

Losing Jacob Wallace puts a dent in the Royals’ bullpen depth

Wallace leaving the Kansas City organization means the Royals have one less reliever to rely on if injuries strike the 2026 bullpen or its current members falter. How serious a hit his loss represents is debatable considering some of the difficulties he’s had in the minors.

Simply put, Wallace tends to give up a few too many runs and walk too many batters. His six-season career minor league ERA is 4.46, which on its face is concerning for a reliever, and 10.5% of the batters he’s faced have walked, including 19.5% in 2022 when he pitched for Boston’s Double-A affiliate.

But Wallace, who joined the Royals via a late 2022 trade with the Red Sox that dispatched Wyatt Mills to Boston and ended former Kansas City star Eric Hosmer’s Red Sox tenure — the Sox DFA’d Hosmer to create roster space for Mills, and released him a short time later — also has some upside.

Take his strikeouts, for example. Wallace has fanned 369 batters in 281.2 minor league innings and owns a career 11.79 BB/9, including a commendable 9.57 mark for Triple-A Omaha in 2025.

And as his career .204 BAA suggests, Wallace also tends to keep runners off base when they don’t work him for walks. His career 20-15 win-loss record also deserves some praise.

Also difficult to ignore is the nice 2.19 ERA he had for Omaha this June before spending almost two months on the injured list.

It’s been a mixed bag, then, for Wallace. He isn’t a superstar and has his flaws, but the 5-1, 4.60 ERA he posted for Omaha over two seasons, and his 42-game 3.98 ERA at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2024 hint at some promise for the future.

Whether Wallace fulfills that promise remains to be seen. But this much is clear — he won’t be around to help the Royals, and that means less relief depth for a club that could use more.