The Royals made a roster shuffle on Monday that pushed Starling Marte off the team, as Kansas City reinstated infielders Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia from the 10-day injured list and brought back left-hander Connor Thomas.
To clear space, the club optioned infielder Josh Rojas and right-hander Jose Cuas to Triple-A Omaha. Marte, meanwhile, was designated for assignment.
Kansas City brought in the 37-year-old Marte in March on a one-year deal that included a $1MM guarantee and $2MM in bonuses, hoping he could help patch an outfield that has been thin for years. The idea was straightforward enough: even if he was past his peak, Marte had still been a productive bat not long ago.
That production showed up across the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Mets, when he logged 699 plate appearances and hit .269/.331/.398 with a 108 wRC+. He also swiped 23 bases over that span.
This year never really got on track. Marte came to the plate 158 times for Kansas City and hit just .242/.298/.314, numbers that translated to a 71 wRC+. He did chip in two stolen bases, though he was caught twice.
The Royals were one of the clearer sellers at the deadline, and Marte, on a one-year contract, was presumably available. Even so, his age and his season-long line likely limited the market. He remained on the roster until the returns of Pasquantino and Garcia forced the issue.
Now that the deadline has passed, Marte will go on waivers in the coming days. Because he has at least five years of service time, he can reject an outright assignment while keeping the rest of his salary.
Kansas City could also skip that process and release him outright. Either way, he looks headed for free agency soon, with the Royals still responsible for what remains of his money.
If another club wanted to take a shot, it would only need to cover the prorated league minimum salary, with that amount offset against what Kansas City is paying. Even with that setup, it would still be a surprise to see Marte land a big league roster spot elsewhere.
Marte’s contract also included a bonus structure tied to both plate appearances and time on the active roster. He earned $125K for reaching 100 plate appearances and another $125K for every 50 plate appearances after that through 450, hitting the first two checkpoints for an additional $250K.
He also picked up $150K for 30 days on the active roster, then $200K each for 69, 90 and 120 days, plus $250K for 150 days. He fell just short of the final active-roster bonus but still unlocked $750K there, leaving him with $1MM in bonuses on top of his $1MM salary.
Those bonuses disappear once he is released or elects free agency, unless he is claimed off waivers.
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