Maurer (knee) has not pitched at any level since June 21.
The 29-year-old right-hander started up a rehab assignment with short-season West Virginia on June 18. He made two appearances but has not pitched since according to his MiLB.com game log, suggesting there was a setback in his recovery from knee surgery.
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Pirates' Brandon Maurer: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Maurer, who has been sidelined since late April after undergoing knee surgery, made a rehab appearance for short-season West Virginia on Tuesday. He struck out a batter as part of a perfect nine-pitch frame.
Maurer was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis at the conclusion of spring training after failing to crack the Pirates' Opening Day roster. The historically brittle reliever only made six appearances for Indianapolis before succumbing to another setback on the health front, but he looks to be on the mend now. Expect him to make another appearance or two with the Pirates' lower-level affiliates before reporting back to Indianapolis.
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Pirates' Brandon Maurer: Sent to minors camp
Rotowire
Maurer was reassigned to minor-league camp Tuesday.
Maurer finished spring with a 3.18 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 3:3 K:BB across 5.1 innings. The right-hander owns an unsightly 6.95 ERA in 90.2 innings over the past two seasons, so he doesn't figure to make an impact at the big-league level in 2019.
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Pirates' Brandon Maurer: Scheduled to pitch Thursday
Rotowire
Maurer (knee) is listed among the Pirates' pitchers scheduled to take the hill in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, John Perrotto of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
The appearance will mark Maurer's first since Feb. 26 after a knee injury sidelined him for more than two weeks. Since Maurer has typically been deployed as a one-inning reliever for much of his career, the missed time shouldn't impact his availability for Opening Day. It could prove more costly to his chances of breaking camp with the big club, however, given that he's missed out on some opportunities to build his case for a bullpen job.
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Pirates' Brandon Maurer: Missing action with injury
Rotowire
Maurer has been dealing with a sore right knee and hasn't pitched since Feb. 26, John Perrotto of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.
The hard-throwing righty has appeared in two spring games, allowing four runs (one earned) in 1.2 innings. Maurer is looking to rebuild his MLB career after posting earned-run averages of 6.52 and 7.76 the last two seasons.
Pirates' Brandon Maurer: Signs minors deal with Pirates
Rotowire
Maurer agreed to a minor-league contract with the PIrates on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.
Maurer is coming off a difficult season in Kansas City, where he struggled to an ugly 7.76 ERA in 31.1 innings. The 28-year-old didn't fare much better with Triple-A Omaha, throwing 23 innings with an ERA of 5.48.
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Brandon Maurer: Elects free agency
Rotowire
Maurer elected to become a free agent Friday after being outrighted off the Royals' 40-man roster.
Maurer appeared in 37 games for the Royals this past season, posting a disastrous 7.76 ERA and 2.14 WHIP with a 31:25 K:BB across 31.1 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander will look to latch on with another organization this winter, though he'll have to pitch much better in spring training to warrant a major-league roster spot.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Blows save chance
Rotowire
Maurer allowed three earned runs on three hits to blow the save Monday against the Tigers.
Maurer got his fifth save opportunity of the season with Wily Peralta unavailable after he appeared in each of the Royals' past three games. However, he blew the chance by allowing three consecutive hits -- two doubles and a single -- with the final earned run crossing the plate after he was pulled from the game. He has now blown four of his five save opportunities this season, posting a horrific 14.25 ERA and 3.00 WHIP in the process.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Gets save against Twins
Rotowire
Maurer got a one-out save against the Twins on Friday, working around a hit and a walk to close out Kansas City's 6-5 victory.
It was the first save of the season for the right-hander, who retired Max Kepler to end the contest after allowing two runners to reach base. He's given up 16 earned runs in his 12 innings of work and blown three saves this season, so Maurer isn't a factor for fantasy purposes until he logs more innings and improves on those numbers.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Squanders save opportunity
Rotowire
Maurer blew a save chance Saturday, allowing one run on two hits and a walk in an inning against the Astros.
Manager Ned Yost turned to Maurer to preserve a one-run lead in the ninth and Maurer couldn't get the job done. This was after lefty Tim Hill successfully converted a save chance Friday -- the first save chance following Kelvin Herrera's trade to Washington. It looks like this will be a committee and Maurer has past ninth-inning experience, but he's struggled mightily at both Triple-A Omaha and in the majors this year and is probably not worth pursuing in mixed leagues unless you're desperate.
Royals' Brandon Maurer: Contract selected from minors
Rotowire
Maurer was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
Maurer will head back to the big leagues after being designated for assignment in early May. Since then, the 27-year-old has been finding a groove on the rubber, posting 10 straight scoreless outings with a 10:4 K:BB across 11 innings of relief. Expect him to work out of low-leverage situations for the time being. In a corresponding move, the Royals optioned Jason Adam to the minors.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Cast off roster
Rotowire
Maurer was outrighted off the Royals' 40-man roster Thursday.
Maurer will stick with the Storm Chasers after passing through waivers untouched. The 27-year-old struggled across the board in 2018, allowing six runs across 4.1 innings with the Royals while coughing up 12 runs (11 earned) through six innings with Triple-A Omaha. He'll remain with the organization as a depth piece.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Optioned to Omaha
Rotowire
Maurer was sent down to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
Maurer has endured a brutal stretch to start the 2018 campaign, most recently allowing three hits -- including a solo home run -- in 1.1 innings against the Angels on Thursday. That marked the third home run he's allowed in five appearances, and his ERA of 12.46 could have looked even worse if he wasn't able to escape some jams. The 27-year-old will look to get things back on track at the Triple-A level. Kansas City recalled Kevin McCarthy from Omaha to take his place in the bullpen.
Maurer will make $2.95 million in 2018 after losing his arbitration case, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.
Maurer came in at $3.5 million. The right-hander dealt with a bit of bad luck over the course of the 2017 season, although he did struggle tremendously with throwing strikes and limiting home runs. He posted a 6.52 ERA -- with a 3.96 FIP -- over the course of 68 appearances between the Royals and Padres, and had a 59:19 K:BB in 59.1 innings of relief. If he's able to regain his form, Maurer should be in line to receive a bunch of high-leverage opportunities during this upcoming campaign.
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Royals' Brandon Maurer: Takes loss Thursday in Cleveland
Rotowire
Maurer (2-2) failed to get an out while being tagged with the loss Thursday after allowing a run on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the 10th inning vs. the Indians.
Maurer became the 22nd straight victim of the Indians' historic winning streak with a terrible effort Thursday. Since being acquired from the Padres in July, the former closer has been nothing short of terrible. In 23 appearances for Kansas City, Maurer owns an 8.34 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP through 18.1 innings.
