The Royals have acquired right-hander Connor Seabold from the Blue Jays, according to announcements from both clubs. The Jays, who designated Seabold for assignment last week, receive minor league righty Denis Samudio and cash considerations. Kansas City transferred righty Carlos Estévez to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding 40-man move. Seabold is out of options and will also need a spot on the active roster when he reports to the team.
Seabold, 30, has been a starter or swingman for most of his career. The Blue Jays brought him into camp this spring via a minor league deal. His velocity ticked up in camp, so the Jays decided to try him out in a more traditional reliever role.
He wasn’t going to crack the roster out of camp, so he triggered an opt-out and quickly landed a big league deal with the Tigers. He spent about two months in the Detroit bullpen and had solid results. He logged 15 2/3 innings with a 3.45 earned run average. His 20.3% strikeout rate was a bit lower than par but he paired that with a strong 7.2% walk rate. His fastball averaged 93.5 miles per hour, a tick north of where he was in 2025. He threw his new cutter 6.9% of the time while cutting back on his slider.
He got squeezed off the Tigers’ roster. The Jays had suffered some injuries during the season and therefore had more roster space than they did two months prior. They wanted Seabold back enough to send prospect Juanmi Vasquez to Detroit so that they could skip the waiver queue. He logged just 3 1/3 innings for the Jays, allowing three earned runs, before some of Toronto’s injured pitchers got healthy and squeezed him into DFA limbo again.
Though Seabold hasn’t been dominant this year, with a 4.26 ERA and 17.2% strikeout rate on the whole, teams are clearly intrigued by him. As mentioned, his velo has ticked up a bit and he has changed his pitch mix. He is not racking up huge punchout numbers but his hard hit rate, average exit velocity and barrel rate are all better than average. This is the second time he has been designated for assignment in the past month but both instances resulted in a team giving up a minor league player to get him before he hit waivers.
For the Royals, their pitching staff has had a rough go of it lately. Seth Lugo was hit by a comebacker a few days ago and was placed on the concussion-related injured list. Last month, starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic hit the IL and are still out of action. In terms of the bullpen, Estévez has been out almost the whole year. James McArthur and Nick Mears joined him on the IL last month.
On Friday, Luinder Avila got a start but couldn’t get out of the first frame, forcing the bullpen to cover 8 1/3 innings. Noah Cameron only went 4 1/3 on Saturday, putting more strain on the relief group. Thankfully, Stephen Kolek went 7 1/3 yesterday. Though Kolek gave the group a break, today will be another challenge. Mitch Spence has been recalled and will take the ball. He has a 6.54 ERA in Triple-A this year. Whenever Seabold reports to the team, he’ll give them a fresh arm to hopefully bolster the bullpen.
To get that fresh arm, the Royals are subtracting from their minor league system. The Jays gave up a minor leaguer to get Seabold last month but now get another one back. Samudio, 21, is an international signee from Panama. He has thrown 56 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.56 earned run average, 29.2% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. In April, FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on their list of top prospects in the Royals’ system, noting that he touches 95 mph and has the best vertical break in the system. He was at the Single-A level for the Royals and could be headed for the Blue Jays’ equivalent.
As for Estévez, this transaction is a formality. He has already been on the IL for more than 60 days, so he can be reinstated at any time. He was hit by a comebacker early in the season and hit the IL due to a left foot contusion. While rehabbing in May, he suffered a rotator cuff strain. It’s unclear when he will be able to resume his rehab assignment.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
