The Royals took a flier on a big arm Thursday, claiming left-hander Luke Little off waivers from the Cubs and sending him to Triple-A Omaha.
Chicago designated Little for assignment three days ago. To make room on the 40-man roster, Kansas City transferred right-hander Luinder Avila to the 60-day injured list. The Royals announced yesterday that Avila will need Tommy John surgery, which will sideline him for the rest of the current season and possibly all of 2027 as well.
Little, who turns 26 later this month, arrives with a profile that’s easy to dream on and harder to trust. The 6-foot-8 southpaw has flashed the kind of stuff that can make a bullpen look a lot better in a hurry, but his command has kept him from locking down a permanent spot in Chicago.
In 36 1/3 major league innings, Little has posted a 2.97 ERA. The strikeout and batted-ball numbers jump off the page, too: he’s struck out 28.3% of the hitters he’s faced and gotten grounders at a 68.4% clip.
But the control issues have been just as loud. He has walked 28 of the 159 batters he’s faced in the majors, a 17.6% rate, and hit five more.
Nearly 21% of his big league opponents have reached base without putting the ball in play, and he’s also thrown four wild pitches.
The raw ingredients are obvious. Little’s fastball sits at 95.7 mph, and a 6-foot-8 lefty with that kind of velocity and those ground-ball numbers is exactly the sort of arm clubs keep circling back to. The problem is that his command grades out as well below where it needs to be, even if the stuff itself is clearly plus.
His 2026 work in the upper minors hasn’t changed the picture much. Between Double-A and Triple-A, Little owns a 5.03 ERA in 39 1/3 innings.
His strikeout rate is 23.3%, which is solid but below his usual level, while his walk rate has climbed to 18%. He’s also hit 10 of the 189 batters he’s faced, or 5.3%.
For Kansas City, the bet is straightforward: there’s time left in the 2026 season to see whether the organization can sharpen Little’s command. Even without average control, his stuff could play. And with the Royals’ bullpen struggling all year, the opportunity is there.
Kansas City relievers rank 29th in the majors with a 5.35 ERA, 29th with a 19.1% strikeout rate and 27th in average fastball velocity. Little won’t help the 27th-ranked walk rate, which sits at 11.2%, but he does bring the kind of velocity and swing-and-miss the Royals have been missing.
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