The Royals have added another arm to the mix, signing right-hander Justin Topa to a minor league deal and sending him to Triple-A Omaha, according to his MLB.com transactions tracker. The Blue Jays had released him from a minor league contract just a couple of days earlier.
Topa, 35, arrives in Kansas City after a rough start to the season. He opened the year with the Twins and was tagged for an 8.05 ERA over 19 innings.
The ground-ball profile was still there - his 54.4% ground ball rate was strong - but the rest of the line was ugly, with a 13% strikeout rate and a 12% walk rate that were both well below average. Minnesota designated him for assignment and released him in May.
Toronto gave him another shot on a minor league deal, and he posted a 3.38 ERA in eight innings with Triple-A Buffalo. Even there, though, the strikeout number stayed light at 10.5% of opponents.
That’s a sharp drop from the version of Topa who looked like a late-bloomer breakout a few seasons ago. In 2023 with the Mariners, his age-32 season, he logged 69 innings with a 2.61 ERA, a 21.9% strikeout rate, a 6.5% walk rate and a 56.7% ground ball rate.
Minnesota acquired him before the 2024 season, but that year was mostly lost to a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, which limited him to just three appearances. He rebounded more last year, throwing 60 innings for the Twins with a 3.90 ERA, an 18.3% strikeout rate, a 6.7% walk rate and a 47.7% ground ball rate.
The financial side of his situation is already set. Topa and the Twins avoided arbitration for 2026 by agreeing to a $1.225MM guarantee, made up of a $1MM salary and a $225K buyout on a $5MM mutual option.
Minnesota remains responsible for the rest of that money. If another team puts him on a roster, it would only owe him the prorated league minimum, and that amount would come off what the Twins are paying.
For Kansas City, the move is a no-risk depth play at a time when the pitching staff is battered by injuries. The Royals have been without Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic, along with Carlos Estévez, James McArthur, Nick Mears and Connor Seabold.
And with the club sitting at 37-54 and ahead of only the Angels in the American League, more turnover could be coming before the deadline. They’re likely to sell, which could mean more pitchers moving out for prospects.
Topa gives them another option without using a roster spot, and if he works his way back to the majors, he’d be the cheapest possible addition.
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For Toronto, the timing matters as much as the decision itself. Guerrero has been managing a lower back issue for about a month, and the plan is to give him space to get right for the second half, where the Blue Jays will need him closer to his best. He also thanked the fans who put him in position to start, leaving the club with a notable absence but a clear reminder that the bigger priority is what comes after the break. [Read more 🡒]