The Kansas City Royals announced on Tuesday that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Easton McGee from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations.
McGee, who was designated for assignment by Milwaukee last week, has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha after joining the organization.
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In a corresponding roster move, the club transferred right-hander Nick Mears from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL, officially opening a spot on the 40-man roster.
Who Is Easton McGee?
McGee is a 28-year-old right-hander out of Hopkinsville, Kentucky who stands 6-foot-7 and was originally a fourth-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016.
He has pitched in parts of four big league seasons across three organizations, spending time with the Rays, Seattle Mariners and Brewers, but his major league resume still only totals 26 1/3 innings.
In that small sample he owns a 3.08 ERA with a ground-ball rate above league average, though his 16.3 percent strikeout rate shows he is more of a contact manager than a swing-and-miss arm.
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McGee also had Tommy John surgery in 2023, costing him the rest of that year with Seattle.
He tossed two scoreless innings for Milwaukee earlier in 2026 before getting designated for assignment.
For a club sitting at 38-59, dead last in the AL Central, picking up arms like McGee for almost nothing makes sense at this point.
Mears’ Transfer to the 60-Day IL Stings
The tougher news out of Tuesday involves Mears.
The 29-year-old came over from Milwaukee in a December trade alongside outfielder Isaac Collins in exchange for left-hander Angel Zerpa, and Kansas City was counting on him after he posted a 3.49 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across a career-high 63 appearances for the Brewers in 2025.
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The early returns were promising too, as Mears opened the year with a 2.45 ERA and scoreless outings in 10 of his first 12 games.
Things fell apart in May when he posted an 8.64 ERA over 8.1 innings before landing on the 15-day IL on May 29 with a right shoulder impingement.
A setback on June 16 led to a shoulder injection, and he has been on a throwing program in Arizona since.
The 60-day IL transfer means he cannot return until late July at the earliest, which is a tough hit for a bullpen that has carried one of the worst ERAs in baseball this season.
Looking Ahead
Kansas City sits 13 games behind the first-place White Sox in the division and is all but out of the postseason picture with the August 3 trade deadline approaching.
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The front office has signaled it will listen on veteran pieces but is not rushing toward a full teardown.
In the meantime, moves like adding McGee are about turning over every stone for pitching depth and seeing what sticks in the second half.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
