Matt

Moore

Moore is attempting to make it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2024 after signing a minor league contract with the Royals last month. The 37-year-old southpaw has looked sharp in a pair of Arizona outings and figures to head out to Triple-A Omaha after the All-Star break.

The 37-year-old southpaw didn’t pitch at all during the 2025 season but isn’t quite ready to hang up his cleats just yet. Now fully healthy, if he looks sharp in the minor leagues it shouldn’t take him long to earn an opportunity in the Royals’ bullpen where he could wind up being a major asset in the second half of the season.

The transaction log says release, but there’s a pretty good chance Moore opted out of his minor league contract. The left-hander didn’t make the Opening Day roster, and he’ll now be free to look for an opportunity to pitch at the highest level.

Both Ottavino and Moore, who were in camp this spring as non-roster invitees, presumably have opt outs in their minor league deals with the club, so we’re anticipating them winding up somewhere else.

The 27-year-old southpaw was sent for an MRI exam — the results of which the team is still awaiting. It’s possible that the team fears that Penrod will be shelved for some time, which may have led to them going out and signing Matt Moore to a minor league deal on Thursday to add another left-handed arm to their bullpen mix. The team expects to know more on Penrod’s status on Friday.

Moore spent most of the last two seasons with the Angels. After two really strong seasons as a reliever, the 35-year-old struggled with injuries in 2024 and pitched to a 5.03 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings for the Angels. Even with those struggles, Moore has a 3.64 ERA and 246/101 K/BB ratio in 245 innings as a reliever. If he’s healthy, he could compete with Justin Wilson to be the second left-handed reliever along with Aroldis Chapman.

Moore was placed on the 15-day injured list on August 27th. He’s now officially out for the rest of the season. This move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Eric Wagaman. Moore had 5.03 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings for Los Angeles this year.

No word as to what the injury is just yet. The 35-year-old will have to miss at least two weeks with the undisclosed ailment. Ryan Miller had his contract selected in the corresponding transaction.

With Carlos Estévez getting the night off on Wednesday, Moore was summoned in the ninth to close it out with a one-run lead over the Padres. He tossed a clean frame to shut the door on San Diego for his first save of the season.

The deal, which was agreed to earlier this week, is now official. Moore has turned himself into one of the premier high-leverage relievers in the game over the last few seasons and returns to Los Angeles as part of a closing mix that also includes Carlos Estévez and Robert Stephenson. The 34-year-old southpaw figures to operate in a setup role, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pick up the occasional save chance.