KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals made some adjustments to their 40-man roster on Thursday with a pitching shakeup.
The Royals announced that the club traded right-handed pitcher A.J. Causey for righty Mitch Pence from the Athletics.
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In a corresponding move, the Royals placed right-hander Alec Marsh on the 60-day injured list (IL) to make room for Spence on the 40-man roster while Marsh recovers from shoulder surgery.
Marsh underwent surgery for right labral repair back in October 2025 after missing the entire ’25 season with a shoulder injury, and is now expected to miss the entire 2026 season as well.
Across Marsh’s two seasons with the Royals, he tallied a 4.96 earned run average (ERA) across 203.1 innings in 43 games, 33 of which were starts.
Spence, a former #1 overall selection in the Rule 5 Draft by the New York Yankees, has spent two seasons at the big-league level. In those two years, he’s recorded a 4.77 ERA with 192 strikeouts (K) and, impressively, just 70 walks (BB) across 236 innings pitched (IP).
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The 27-year-old out of the University of South Carolina Aiken spent both of those major league seasons with the A’s, where 32 of his 67 appearances were starts.
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According to MLB.com’s Anne Rogers, the Royals’ thought process when acquiring Spence comes down to depth and versatility.
Causey, who now finds himself on a new team after earning his first invite to big league camp with the Royals, was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by KC. He worked his way up to the AA level in the Royals’ farm system last season, splitting time between AA and High-A while posting an ERA below two at both levels.
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