Kansas City Royals have nothing to lose with Homer Bailey signing

The Kansas City Royals signed pitcher Homer Bailey to a minor league deal on Saturday. There’s little reason not to like this deal, as the Royals will pay him the league minimum and he was once a top pitcher in the league.

Most baseball fans know Homer Bailey for his tenure as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where he spent 12 years of his career. He was sent to the Dodgers this offseason, but instantly released. Now the Kansas City Royals have brought him on to see if he has anything left in the tank.

Maybe Homer Bailey has something left to offer the Royals, and if he does, they will get him on the cheap. If nothing else, Bailey is a veteran presence who could help mentor some of the younger guys.

Bailey was the seventh overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft and made his MLB debut three years later. He got roughed up for the first five years of his major league career, but started to show promise in his sixth season. That year saw him go 208 innings for a 3.68 ERA and record 13 wins.

The next year was an even better one for Bailey, who had a 3.49 ERA in 209 innings thrown. The 2014 season was Bailey’s last decent one, however, as he’s been pretty lousy since then.

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In 2018, Bailey got shellacked all year long. He had a 6.09 ERA and 1.636 WHIP in 20 starts. He did throw in 106.1 innings and when he was at the top of his game, was an innings eater. Unfortunately, injuries took their toll on him between 2015-2017.

Best case scenario for the Royals and Homer Bailey: He wows everyone in spring training and gets a spot on the major league roster. It’s unlikely that he’d be a bullpen arm, as he’s made just one relief appearance in his career. That came in the 2010 NLDS where he threw two scoreless innings of relief. Otherwise, Bailey has only been a starter.

The Royals have plenty of options for their rotation, but Homer Bailey is still worth bringing in. If he pitches well, throw him on the final roster. If he fails, there’s an opt-out for March 25th, and then this whole thing could be over before we even know it.

There’s no harm in making this move. Last year the team had Clay Buchholz on their roster and he ended up piecing together some nice starts and went on to pitch for the Diamondbacks after he and the Royals parted ways during the season.

Sometimes these “reclamation projects” can pan out, so why not give Homer Bailey a chance?