Jason Kendall and David DeJesus returning from the 60-day disabled list meant the Royals needed to clear a couple spots on the 40-man roster and they did so by cutting loose Brian Bannister and Brian Anderson.
Bannister is one of my favorite players because he’s a good quote, very smart, and a fan of sabermetrics, often talking about how he studies stats in an effort to improve his pitching. It didn’t help him much this season, as he went 7-12 with a 6.32 ERA in 24 starts after coming into the year with a 4.79 ERA in 540 career innings.
He’s a decent bounceback bet, but Bannister’s upside is back-of-the-rotation starter and at age 30 he may have to settle for a minor-league contract with an opportunity to compete for a job this spring.
Anderson is a former first-round pick who converted to pitching this season after struggling to hit enough to play the outfield. He had some early success in the minors, tossing 17 innings with a 2.08 ERA and 17/5 K/BB ratio, but there was no need to protect him with a 40-man roster spot.