Royals sign pitchers Cody Poteet and Brooks Kriske to minor league deals

The Royals announced today they have signed right-handed pitchers Cody Poteet and Brooks Kriske to minor league deals. They also re-signed outfielder Seuly Matias to a minor league deal and officially announced the signing of catcher Jakson Reetz to a minor league deal.

Poteet is from San Diego and attended UCLA before he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 draft by the Marlins. He made his MLB debut in 2021 and made seven starts for the Marlins with a 4.99 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 30 ²⁄₃ innings, but a knee injury cut his season short. He returned this year to pitch in just 12 games, mostly in relief, with a 3.86 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 28 innings. His fastball sits at 94 mph with good spin and he throws a slider, but this year he began using his change-up significantly more.

Like Poteet, Kriske is also from southern California, but attended rival USC. He was drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round out of USC in 2016. He underwent Tommy John surgery his first year with them, but reached the big leagues by 2020 and pitched in 12 games for the Yankees before the Orioles claimed him off waivers late in 2021. His big league experience with the two clubs was a bit rough - he once had a four-wild pitch inning with the Yankees. Overall he has pitched in 15 big league innings with 19 strikeouts, allowing 8 home runs, 13 walks and 25 runs. He went to Japan and pitched 21 innings for Yokohama with a 2.57 ERA. The 28-year-old throws a fastball that sits at 95 mph with a splitter and a slider.

Matias is a right-handed hitting outfielder with 80-grade power, but an inability to make consistent contact. He hit .225/.330/.424 with 16 home runs and a 33.5 percent strikeout rate in 99 games for Double-A Northwest Arkansas this year. The 24-year-old was a minor league free agent that could have signed with anyone, but chose to return to the organization he has been with since 2016.

News of the Reetz signing broke earlier this week from Fansided reporter Robert Murray. The 26-year-old catcher/outfielder spent the end of last season with Omaha after the Brewers designated him for assignment. He hit .264/.359/.575 with 30 home runs in just 104 games across Double-A and Triple-A combined this year.