Royals claim Nick Tepesch off waivers

The Royals made their first deadline move today, signing Nick Tepesch away from the Oakland A’s who had placed the right handed hurler on waivers. Tepesch is a local kid, having played baseball both for Blue Springs High School and Mizzou. He was taken in the 14th round of the 2010 draft by the Texas Rangers.

The 27-year-old has played parts of 3 seasons, mostly as a starting pitcher, in the major leagues between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, going 9-18 with a 4.68 ERA, 4.66 FIP and a 1.9 K/BB ratio. Most recently he was pitching for the Oakland Athletics AAA affiliate, though he did make 1 start for the Dodgers this year where he allowed 5 runs in 4.2 innings though he did strike out 3 without walking anyone. Kris Medlen was moved to the 60-day-DL to make room on the 40-man-roster; this has no impact on Medlen's return timetable because he has already been out more than 60 days. Tepesch will report to the Omaha Storm Chasers for now. He doesn’t have a lot of upside, but he should serve as pitching depth for a team sorely lacking in it, right now.