Former San Diego Padres pitcher Jordan Lyles has been released by the Kansas City Royals exactly three months after he was placed on the team's restricted list.
Lyles was placed on the team's restricted list for personal reasons on April 22. Despite reporting to the Royals in June, Lyles did not return to the Royals' 26-man roster and instead was released after he went unclaimed on unconditional release waivers.
“This is still sort of an ongoing thing, so out of respect to Jordan and the personal nature of it, we don’t want to comment too much,” Royals senior vice president/assistant general manager Scott Sharp said, via MLB.com's Anne Rogers. “We wish him well moving forward. The organization was, due to certain rules and restrictions, we were in a position where we had to make a decision.
"The best decision for the organization was to release Jordan Lyles.”
Lyles did not make the Royals' starting rotation prior to Opening Day, and was instead used as a reliever during the beginning of the 2024 season.
In five game appearances and five innings pitched, Lyles allowed two hits, zero earned runs, notched three strikeouts, and posted a 0.00 ERA. This was a strong start for Lyles, who posted a 6-17 record and 6.28 ERA across 31 starts with the Royals in 2023.
Prior to playing for the Royals, Lyles was the Houston Astros' second-round pick in the 2008 MLB Draft. He made his MLB Debut in 2011, and spent three seasons with the Astros before he was traded to the Colorado Rockies.
Lyles called Denver home for three and a half seasons until he was released on Aug. 1, 2017. He signed with the Padres on a minor league deal one week later.
Lyles made five starts with the Padres in 2017, going 1-3 with a disastrous 9.39 ERA. He returned to the Padres for the 2018 season, where he posted an improved 4.29 ERA in eight starts and 24 games for San Diego. He was claimed off of trade waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 5, 2018, ending his time in San Diego.
Lyles has since pitched for the Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and the Royals.
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