Royals quickly DFA veteran pitcher

Between games of Thursday’s doubleheader, the Royals made a roster move. Left-hander Cole Ragans, the scheduled starter for the second game, has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list. Right-hander Thomas Hatch has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move, per a team announcement. The club’s 40-man roster count drops from 40 to 39.

Hatch was only added to the 40-man roster earlier this morning. The Royals wound up using five relievers to cover three innings, but Hatch wasn’t among them. He was always going to be a relatively short-term addition, though it’s not clear whether a turnaround this quick was the plan or whether yet another sensational start from rookie Noah Cameron forced the team’s hand. Cameron today became the second pitcher in MLB history to pitch at least six innings and allow one or fewer runs in the first five starts of his big league career, joining the late Fernando Valenzuela in that regard (stat via Sarah Langs and the MLB Network research department).

The 30-year-old Hatch signed a minor league deal with Kansas City over the winter. He’s appeared in parts of four big league seasons (not including today) and pitched 69 innings with a 4.96 ERA, a 19.7% strikeout rate, a 10.7% walk rate and a 46.9% grounder rate. He’s also spent time in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and looked to be headed to the Korea Baseball Organization this past offseason, before concerns surrounding his physical exam caused the Doosan Bears to void their one-year deal.

Health hasn’t been an issue for Hatch in 2025, even with that offseason medical snag. He’s started 10 games for the Royals’ Triple-A squad in Omaha and pitched to a 4.59 ERA with slightly below average strikeout marks (20.8%) and solid command (8.6% walk rate). Hatch was torched for eight runs in one start back on April 15 but has since rattled off seven starts with a 3.68 ERA.

Now that he’s been designated for assignment, Hatch will be traded or placed on waivers within five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so his DFA will be resolved in a maximum of one week. If he clears waivers, he’ll stick with the Royals as a depth option, given that he lacks the requisite three years of MLB service or prior outright assignment to reject in favor of free agency. Hatch will collect big league service time and pay for his quick promotion today and for however long he’s in DFA limbo, so even he’s immediately placed on waivers and clears, he’ll still add three days of service and more than $12,500 in pay without throwing a pitch — not a bad few days.