Royals Strengthen Roster, Murdock Lost in Rule 5 Draft

The 2024 Rule 5 draft occurred on Wednesday afternoon as part of the annual MLB Winter Meetings. Last year, Kansas City selected pitcher Matt Sauer from the New York Yankees. This time, the Royals opted not to make a selection in the Major League portion. They did lose some talent, however. RHP Noah Murdock was selected by the Athletics in the first round of the Major League portion of the draft. Murdock, now 26, was a seventh-round selection by the Royals in 2019. His 6-8 frame and lively fastball make him an enticing add for a team hoping for a cheap, upside option. Murdock made his way to Triple-A for the first time in 2024, pitching to a 3.76 ERA with a 27.9% strikeout rate.

In the minor league portion, the Royals selected two players. The first was outfielder Bryan Gonzalez from the Boston Red Sox organization. Gonzalez is a 23-year-old outfielder with good power potential but a lot of strikeouts to go with it. He was an amateur free agent signed by Boston back in July 2018. He slashed .272/.337/.508 with 20 home runs and a .235 ISO for Boston’s High-A affiliate in 2024. Gonzalez was named a top 26 prospect in the system by FanGraphs back in 2019.

The second round of the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft saw the Royals select RHP Landon Marceaux out of the Mets organization. Marceaux is a 25-year-old reliever type who has struggled so far in his minor-league career. A third-round pick in 2021, the Angels traded Marceaux to the Mets in June 2023. He has good command and two above-average breaking balls but his fastball leaves some to be desired. With the Mets in 2023, Marceaux appeared in just one outing. He has struggled with injuries, spending all of 2024 on the injured list in the Mets system.

The Royals did not have any players selected in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 draft.

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