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Kansas City Royals: Jesse Hahn will compete for rotation spot

By Leigh Oleszczak

OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 6: Jesse Hahn #32 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on June 6, 2017 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Blue Jays 4-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JUNE 6: Jesse Hahn #32 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on June 6, 2017 in Oakland, California. The Athletics defeated the Blue Jays 4-1. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Royals traded for pitcher Jesse Hahn and now the big question is what his role will be for the team. Hahn will supposedly audition for the rotation in spring training.

Adding pitchers is always a good thing and the Kansas City Royals have done a nice job of that this winter. The latest name to join the team is Jesse Hahn, who has time spent with the Padres and the Athletics before coming to Kansas City.

Hahn hasn’t had great stats over the last few years, but that’s mostly due to injury. He’s had Tommy John surgery before and his limited action over the past couple of seasons is due to that darn injury bug.

Last season, Jesse Hahn threw just 69.2 innings with a 3-6 record and an ERA of 5.30. He recorded 55 strikeouts and walked 27 batters in his 14 games (13 starts) in 2017. While those aren’t exactly the numbers of an All-Star pitcher, Hahn will get a shot to make a big impact for the Royals in 2018.

Dayton Moore told the media that Hahn will be competing for a starting job in spring training and that means the rotation could be more competitive than we previously thought it would be.

As I mentioned before, adding pitchers is always a good move, but for the Royals, it’s a GREAT move. This is an organization that, for whatever reason, can’t develop their own stars on the mound… at least not for their rotation.

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Hahn has the intangibles to be a solid starter and he’s proven it in the past. Injuries have hampered his career to this point, but when healthy, the guy is pretty effective.

His best season came in 2014 with the Padres. That year saw Hahn lock down a nice 3.07 ERA with a 7-4 record  in 14 games (12 starts)

If the Royals can get that type of production from Jesse Hahn, then fans would definitely be okay with that! Hopefully the guy can stay healthy, as this rotation already has its fair share of injury prone pitchers (Danny Duffy, Nate Karns, Kyle Zimmer, need I go on?).

A few weeks ago, I covered potential starters for the Royals and it seemed pretty set in stone for the most part. That makes me think that Moore isn’t done trading and perhaps Jason Hammel could be flipped for a prospect.

That’d open things up a little more for Hahn in the rotation, as Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Nate Karns, and Jakob Junis will likely win those four other spots. Hahn will have to absolutely dominate in spring training to beat out those guys (though Junis isn’t a sure thing, I guess).

When push comes to shove, however, Jesse Hahn is a 28 year old right-handed pitcher who the Royals have control of through 2022. If the Royals can get two or three decent years out of him, they’ll easily win this trade. Not that anyone’s keeping track though.

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