Royals add new reclamation project after trading for promising Giants prospect arm

While they may not be the most groundbreaking moves, Kansas City Royals fans can’t say that J.J. Picollo and the front office haven’t been busy to start the offseason.

And just a day after addressing their need for outfield depth by trading for Kameron Misner, the Royals swung another deal on Tuesday, acquiring right-handed starter Mason Black from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitching prospect Logan Martin.

It may not be the flashiest of moves, nor is starting pitching a dire need for the Royals this offseason, but there’s reason to believe that this move could have some upside for Kansas City.

Mason Black adds some high-upside pitching depth to Royals’ system

Before the trade, MLB Pipeline had Black ranked as the Giants’ 18th overall prospect. And before a lackluster 2025 campaign, the 2021 third rounder was among San Francisco’s Top 10 prospects in back-to-back seasons – sitting as high as eight in 2024.

As just mentioned, 2025 wasn’t the greatest of seasons for the Royals new righty. He appeared in just 4.0 MLB innings this season, tossing to a 6.75 ERA. And in 119.1 innings of work across 30 Triple-A outings, he didn’t fare much better, posting a 5.81 ERA, 5.64 FIP, 1.47 WHIP and .247 BAA.

And with a 6.44 ERA in 36.1 big league innings and a 4.59 ERA in 20 starts in Triple-A innings in 2024, it’s really been two seasons now since he’s displayed any sort of top prospect potential.

However, Black holds a diverse pitch arsenal and before his dip in form he was a pretty strong strikeout arm, consistently holding K/9 totals above 10.00.

Then, according to the MLB Pipeline crew, Black’s delivery gives Brian Sweeney and the Royals’ pitching staff something to work with.

“He slings his pitches from a low three-quarters delivery with quality extension that gives him deception without costing him the ability to throw strikes,” Pipeline wrote in Black’s scouting report.

Seeing the success the Royals have had with getting the best out of their starters – with Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron being prime examples in 2025 – perhaps a career revitalization for Black is possible.

And it certainly offers them a different look from last season’s failed strategy of acquiring pitching depth through struggling veterans.

The Black acquisition is pretty low-risk for Kansas City, considering it was only Logan Martin they had to surrender for him.

Martin was drafted by Kansas City in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft and while he’s looked solid enough, never posting an ERA higher than the mid-3.00s, the 24-year-old has yet to progress past High-A to this point.

How Black fits into the Royals’ 2026 pitching scheme remains to be seen, as starting pitching is place where they seem to have more than enough big league cover. However, they did certainly have a need for improved pitching depth and Black certainly provides some promising cover.