Tony Gonsolin’s next chapter is already set, even if his next pitch might not be. The former Dodgers All-Star right-hander has signed a major league deal with the Kansas City Royals, and the club made it official on Thursday.
The contract runs through 2026 and includes a club option for 2027. Kansas City also announced that Gonsolin has been placed on the 15-day injured list right away, while RHP Eli Morgan was designated for assignment.
Gonsolin is still working back from the elbow surgery he had last August, and it remains unclear whether he’ll throw a pitch this season. If he doesn’t, the Royals will still have him under control heading into 2026 with that option in place.
For Gonsolin, the move closes the book on a Dodgers run that stretched from a ninth-round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft to an All-Star turn and a World Series title. The Dodgers drafted him in 2016, and by 2019 he had climbed to their No. 5 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
He debuted in the majors in 2019 and put up a 2.93 ERA over 11 appearances, including six starts, across 40 innings. The following year was even sharper: a 2.31 ERA in nine appearances, eight of them starts, over 46.2 innings. That performance put him fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Gonsolin stayed effective in 2021, posting a 3.23 ERA over 55.2 innings, then exploded in 2022 with a 16-1 record and a 2.14 ERA across 130.1 innings. That was the season he earned his first All-Star nod and emerged as a Cy Young contender before a late-season forearm strain knocked him out of the race.
The injuries kept coming after that. He injured his ankle in spring training before the 2023 season, struggled to a 4.98 ERA over 103 innings when he returned, then landed back on the injured list with right forearm inflammation that the team said had bothered him all year. That led to Tommy John surgery, wiping out all of 2024 except for three rehab outings in the minors.
He was supposed to come back in 2025, but a back injury in spring training pushed back his debut. When he finally returned at the end of April, he logged a 5.00 ERA over 36 innings before going on the IL with right elbow discomfort. He never made it back, and he eventually underwent his second major elbow surgery.
The Dodgers announced on Aug. 12, 2025, that Gonsolin had pronator repair surgery on his right elbow performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and that he would miss the rest of the season. One year and one day after that announcement, he’s no longer a free agent.
Gonsolin, now 32, leaves Los Angeles with a 3.34 ERA over 411.2 regular-season innings. In the postseason, he appeared in eight games and posted a 9.20 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 14.2 innings.
He was part of Dodgers championship teams in 2020, 2024 and 2025, though he did not appear in a game in 2024 and did not play in the postseason in 2025.
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