Randy Rosario, Chase Vallot among 15 Royals eligible for minor league free agency

Royals left-handed reliever Randy Rosario and former second-round pick Chase Vallot are among 15 players eligible for minor league free agency, in a list released by Baseball America. Minor leaguers can become free agents if they are not on a 40-man roster after seven seasons. There was some question as to whether this would count as a full season since there was no minor league season, but this year was treated as if it was a regular minor league season for free agency purposes.

Here is a complete list of players eligible for free agency for the Royals.

Winston Abreu - Three year MLB vet who hadn’t pitched in a game since 2012, but was signed by the Royals in 2019 at the age of 41, and was likely serving in some sort of coaching capacity.

D.J. Burt - Fourth round pick in the 2014 draft, has great speed with 160 steals in six seasons, but the bat has not developed, and he hit .226/.330/.304 in 80 games in Double-A as an infielder/outfielder.

Allan de San Miguel - A long-time veteran of the Australian Baseball League, de San Miguel last played in the minors in 2017, and has been serving in a coaching capacity. The 32-year old briefly in Summer Camp with the Royals as an extra catcher.

Drew Ferguson - Former Astros minor league outfielder, hit .281/.395/.440 as a 26-year old in Triple-A in 2019.

Angel Franco - Infielder hadn’t played since 2017. Spent ten years in the Royals organization.

Gerson Garabito - 25-year old right-handed, had a 3.77 ERA in 141 innings for Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2019.

Conner Greene- Hard-throwing right-hander was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in 2018. Posted a 5.13 ERA in 112 ¹⁄₃ innings across Double-A and Triple-A in 2019, with poor strikeout-to-walk numbers.

Arnaldo Hernandez - Right-hander was added to the 40-man roster after a velocity bump in 2018, but regressed in 2019 with a 5.60 ERA in Double-A and Triple-A and was removed from the roster.

Luis Hernandez - Spent parts of five years in the big leagues as a shortstop, including 37 games with the Royals in 2009. Last played in the minors in 2015.

Tyler Hill - Former Red Sox minor league outfielder, hit .403 in 21 games for High-Wilmington in 2019 at the age of 23.

Nick Howard - Former Reds first-round pick who had trouble finding the plate and eventually had shoulder surgery. Pitched just three innings in 2019.

Andres Machado - Pitched 3 ²⁄₃ innings for the Royals in 2017. Has had an up and down career but had a 2.89 ERA in Triple-A Omaha in 2019 at the age of 26.

Yunior Marte - Rubber-armed right-hander with good velocity ha da 4.19 ERA in Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 at the age of 24.

Randy Rosario - Claimed off waivers form the Cubs in 2019, has pitched in parts of four big league seasons. Lefty reliever gave up three runs in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings for the Royals this year.

Franco Terrero - Right-hander posted a 5.08 ERA in 44 ¹⁄₃ innings for Double- Northwest Arkansas in 2019 at the age of 24.

Chase Vallot - Former first round sandwich pick showed great power and plate discipline, but struggled to make contact, hitting .190/.303/.401 for Low-A Lexington in 2019 at the age of 22.

Other interesting names on the list include catchers Welington Castillo and Jonathan Lucroy, first basemen Yondero Alonso and Tommy Joseph, third baseman Matt Duffy, outfielders Domingo Santana, Scott Schebler, Dwight Smith, Keon Broxton, and Nick Williams, and pitchers Mike Foltynewicz, Shelby Miller, Danny Hultzen, Luis Ortiz, Trevor Hildenberger, Pedro Strop, Anthony Gose, and Tyler Kolek.

There are number of former Royals on the list, including catchers Juan Graterol and Francisco Pena, first baseman Frank Schwindel, infielder Jack Lopez, outfielders Lane Adams, Jorge Bonifacio, Rosell Herrera, and Terrance Gore, and pitchers Ryan Buchter, Tim Collins, Luke Farrell, Blaine Hardy, Sam McWilliams, and Michael Ynoa.