One day after losing first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to a broken thumb, the Kansas City Royals claimed veteran outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers, the team announced. Pham comes from the St. Louis Cardinals, Grossman from the Texas Rangers. The Royals also acquired first baseman Yuli Gurriel from the Atlanta Braves for cash, reports the New York Post.
Because the additions come before the Sept. 1 roster deadline, all three players will be eligible to play in the postseason, should the Royals qualify. Pasquantino's injury, plus a recent hamstring injury suffered by Hunter Renfroe, left the Royals in need of lineup help.
The 40-year-old Gurriel had played the entire season in Triple-A with the Braves. He was eligible to be traded because he's on a minor-league contract and has not been on a 40-man roster or the MLB injured list at any point this season. Gurriel hit .292/.378/.485 with 12 homers in 75 Triple-A games. He'll help replace Pasquantino at first base.
Pham, 36, was acquired by the Cardinals from the Chicago White Sox leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. However, the Cardinals failed to make a jump up the standings after the deadline, and that led to Pham's first being placed on waivers and then being designated for assignment. Pham had expressed a desire to play for a contender down the stretch, and Royals will give him just that.
This season, the right-handed-batting Pham has slashed .254/.321/.378 with six home runs in a combined 93 games for the White Sox and Cardinals. He's owed the balance of a $3.5 million salary for 2024 and is eligible for free agency this coming offseason.
As for Grossman, the 34-year-old switch-hitter this season is batting .227/.333/.324 with three home runs in 71 games for the White Sox and Rangers. The Rangers acquired him from Chicago in late May.
Going into Saturday's slate, the Royals are 75-61 on the season. They trail the first-place Cleveland Guardians by 2 1/2 games in the American League Central but are in second wild-card position in the AL. If the Royals are able to hang on, then it will be their first postseason appearance since 2015, when they won the World Series.
