Royals select Trevor Rosenthal, designate Eric Skoglund for assignment

The Royals have selected Trevor Rosenthal and added him to the 40-man roster and have designated left-handed pitcher Eric Skoglund for assignment. The right-handed Rosenthal had a clause in his minor league contract allowing him to opt out if he wasn’t on the MLB roster by March 26, which was when Opening Day was scheduled. MLB and the union have been negotiating on moving back the deadline for these kind of opt outs, Reliever Greg Holland also has an opt out provision for March 26.

Rosenthal looked sharp in camp with five shutout innings and nine strikeouts with no walks. The 29-year old Lee’s Summit native is a seven-year MLB veteran with 121 career saves, including 48 in an All-Star 2015 season for then-Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. He throws in the upper-90s, but has had trouble with command and effectiveness since getting Tommy John surgery in 2017. He was let go by the Nationals after allowing 24 runs in 15 ¹⁄₃ innings last year, and did not fare much better in nine innings with the Tigers.

Eric Skoglund had a 6.61 ERA in 109 innings in parts of three seasons with the Royals. The former third-round pick burst onto the scene in 2017, throwing seven shutout innings in his MLB debut, but he has struggled since then and was suspended 80 games for a banned substance in 2019. He only pitched 21 innings for the Royals after his suspension, with just four strikeouts and 21 runs allowed. He was battling arm soreness this spring and pitched in just one game in spring training. If he clears waivers, the 27-year old left-hander could still sign a minor league deal with the Royals.