Kyle

Wright

Wright, a 20-game winner for the Braves in 2022, hasn’t pitched in the majors since undergoing shoulder surgery in 2023. He made eight starts in the minors for the Royals last season, finishing with a 5.48 ERA and a 21/14 K/BB in 23 innings. His fastball was down about 2.5 mph from his 94.7-mph average in 2022.

The 30-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment by the Royals earlier in the week and passed through waivers unclaimed. Rather than accepting his outright assignment to Triple-A Omaha though, he has decided to peddle his wares on the open market. Wright hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2023 season due to shoulder surgery. He made eight minor league starts in the Royals’ organization in 2025, posting a 5.48 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and a 21/14 K/BB ratio over 23 innings. He could be an intriguing low-cost flier for teams that are in the market for rotation depth.

Wright passed through waivers unclaimed after being removed from Kansas City’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 30-year-old righty hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2023 due to shoulder surgery. He led the majors with 21 victories during the 2022 campaign before shoulder issues derailed his career. He’s a pure lottery ticket heading into next season.

Wright has been placed on outright waivers, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He can reject an eventual outright assignment to Triple-A Omaha and elect free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed. The 30-year-old hurler, who was a likely non-tender candidate later this month, hasn’t thrown a pitch in the big leagues since the 2023 campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery. He would represent an interesting low-risk lottery ticket somewhere else this offseason.

Wright will be shut down for at least two weeks and then be reevaluated. If he comes back with a clean bill of health, then he will resume throwing at Triple-A; however, this is the second time he has experienced a setback of some kind since first being placed on the IL with a shoulder injury back in March.

Wright has wrapped up a rehab assignment and will remain stationed on the doorstep of the majors as extra organizational pitching depth. The 29-year-old righty missed all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery. He should get a chance with Kansas City at some point in the second half given the attrition rate for starting pitchers.

The 29-year-old hurler will continue to play catch for the time being, but he’ll skip one of two turns through the rotation before trying to give it a go once more. While it had seemed like Wright was closing in on a return to the big league club, that timeline will now be pushed back several weeks at the absolute minimum.

Cameron struck out five and walked one on the day while facing the Reds’ Triple-A team. Cameron impressed in his MLB debut, but Kyle Wright is also nearing a return to form after injury, so you have to wonder if Wright will get the next MLB spot start should an opportunity arise.

Wright made his first rehab start on Friday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits, while striking out four and walking two in four innings. He got up to 60 pitches in this outing and will probably need two or three more rehab starts before the Royals consider bringing him back up.

Strong early-season performances by Kris Bubic and Michael Lorenzen have reduced the urgency for Kansas City to get Wright back up to full speed quickly. The 29-year-old righty will continue ramping up in Arizona and should be an option for Kansas City’s pitching staff at some point next month, if not sooner.