Royals Acquire Bailey Falter From Pirates In Deadline Buzzer-Beater

The Kansas City Royals' strength all season has been their starting rotation. But an injury to All-Star Kris Bubic seemingly changed everything.

Bubic was ruled out for the season on Monday thanks to a rotator cuff strain. That resulted in the Royals acquiring three potential starting pitchers on Thursday, the latest of which came in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After acquiring righties Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek from the San Diego Padres earlier in the day, the Royals acquired left-hander Bailey Falter, potentially the most impactful arm of the bunch, from the Pirates.

ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the deal via X (formerly Twitter). Left-handed pitcher Evan Sisk and first baseman Callan Moss are heading back to Pittsburgh, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Falter, 28, owns a 3.73 ERA in 22 starts this season, striking out 70 batters in 113 1/3 innings. He's under team control through the 2028 season, so the Royals will have him as an option for the next few years as others (including Bubic) eventually head to free agency.

Falter last pitched on Tuesday, so he would figure to be available to make his Royals debut either Sunday or Monday.

It was a big day for the Royals acquiring pitchers, and they can now shift their attention to erasing a three-game deficit in the Wild Card race and getting back to the postseason for the second year in a row.

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