Royals Making a Big Mistake Using a Roster Spot on Trevor Rosenthal
The Kansas City Royals remain in rebuilding mode heading into the 2020 season. The goal should be to develop young talent and trade veteran players, such as Whit Merrifield, to bring in even more talent for the future.
That is why it was odd to see the Royals give a roster spot to 29-year-old reliever Trevor Rosenthal, moving on from Eric Skoglund in order to add Rosenthal on Wednesday.
Earlier today, we selected RHP Trevor Rosenthal and designated LHP Eric Skoglund for assignment. #Royals
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) March 25, 2020
The release of Skoglund is not the problem here. The left-hander posted a negative WAR in three consecutive seasons, and at 27 years old, the team decided to cut ties. Yet becoming the latest rebuilding team to trust Rosenthal seems to be a mistake.
The reliever is coming off a year in which he posted a -1.2 WAR between Washington and Detroit. This came after sitting out the entire 2018 season to recover from injuries. He only logged 15.1 innings last year and allowed 23 earned runs, for a terrible 13.50 ERA.
#Royals Trevor Rosenthal
— MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) March 25, 2020
Pitch Quality Decline
2015 (5.13 QOPA)(Top 11% MLB)
2016 (4.93 QOPA)(Top 23% MLB)
2017 (4.99 QOPA)(Top 13% MLB)
2019 (4.24 QOPA)(Bottom 44% MLB)
Location
2016 (Top 21% MLB)
2017 (Top 39% MLB)
2019 (Bottom 13% MLB) pic.twitter.com/dE1V9SeBFr
The quality of his pitches is declining annually, and his control is abhorrent -- there's very little chance Rosenthal will be rehabilitated even to the point that he could be used as valuable midseason trade bait.
Rosenthal is not a part of the Royals' future and will just end up eating innings in 2020. But couldn't a younger player have gotten that playing time? That is a question the Royals will have to answer if Rosenthal gets significant run.