Brandon Drury’s career has taken another sharp turn. The Kansas City Royals released the former Blue Jays infielder on Monday, Sept. 7, ending a minor league run that never led back to the majors.
For Toronto fans, Drury’s name still brings back the same frustrating chapter: the trade that sent J.A. Happ to the New York Yankees in 2018.
The Blue Jays got Drury and Billy McKinney back in that deal, hoping the pair could grow into useful pieces as the club moved into the Vladdy-Bo era. Instead, McKinney faded quickly and Drury delivered uneven production across three seasons in Toronto.
In 149 games with the Blue Jays, Drury hit .208 with a .606 OPS, 49 runs scored, 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. One of those seasons was the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, and by the end of his time in Toronto, he never became a real part of the team’s climb back.
Drury did bounce back after leaving the Blue Jays. He won a Louisville Silver Slugger Award in 2022 after putting together a strong year between the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, finishing with 28 home runs, 87 RBIs and an .813 OPS. He followed that with another productive season for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023.
The downturn started in 2024. With the Angels that year, Drury hit .169/.242/.228 with 28 runs scored, seven doubles, four home runs and 15 RBIs in 97 games. Things got worse in 2025, when he spent the entire season in the minors between the Angels and Chicago White Sox organizations, batting .214 with 26 runs scored, three home runs and 17 RBIs in 53 total games.
Drury signed a minor league deal with the Royals for 2026 in hopes of getting back to the big leagues. He improved a bit in the minors, hitting .241 with 30 runs scored, six home runs and 35 RBIs in 60 games, but it still wasn’t enough to keep him in the organization.
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