Royals Add Rotation Depth in Trade with Mariners

The Kansas City Royals have had their starting rotation decimated by injuries over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, the Royals made a minor deal with the Seattle Mariners for a healthy arm.

Kansas City announced that it had acquired pitcher Randy Dobnak from the Mariners. Dobnak, 31, had triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with a date of June 15. The right-handed pitcher signed the deal with Seattle in the offseason, but hasn't appeared with the big league club this year. For their part, the Mariners are one of the only teams with the luxury of an abundance of starting pitchers, making Dobnak an expendable asset.

Before signing with Seattle, Dobnak spent the first five years of his career with the Minnesota Twins organization. He pitched in 39 career games with the Twins, but did not appear in an MLB game in either 2022 or 2023. Dobnak finished his tenure in Minnesota with a 9-12 record, a 4.86 ERA, and 1.372 WHIP.

Dobnak has the potential to join an ailing Kansas City Royals rotation. The Royals are down three of their Opening Day starters, with both Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic seemingly nowhere close to returning. Seth Lugo hit the IL earlier this week after taking a line drive off the head against the Texas Rangers. The Royals also lost Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino this week to hand injuries.

The trade, which was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, will see Dobnak initially report to Triple-A Omaha. In 13 starts with Tacoma, Dobnak posted a 5-5 record, with a 4.24 ERA and 1.443 WHIP. These numbers are likely inflated due to the Rainiers playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Dobnak has never been a high strikeout pitcher, but in the past, he has posted high ground-ball rates with a low propensity for handing out walks.