Tyler Duffey hit or miss signing for Royals


The boys in blue are looking to boost the bullpen through the minor league free agent market, and Kansas City signed a familiar arm, Tyler Duffey, to a minor league pact. Duffey spent time in the Cubs’ organization last season; however, his last big league stint was with the Twins. The 32-year old was a member of the Twins pitching staff for seven seasons before signing with the Cubs last season. Duffey was designated for assignment by Minnesota on August 5 and released just two days later. The righthander, in my opinion, is a type of pitcher that could boost the pen next season. Last season, Duffey spent most of the season in Triple-A. While in Iowa, Duffey appeared in 36 games and threw a total of 45.1 innings. Duffey started two games for Iowa last season. The decision for the Twins to move on from Duffey was difficult for the organization and rightfully so. The organization had plenty to say about Duffey following his departure from the team. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli's comments on the pitcher's time with Minnesota: "That decision is as tough as it gets, and you do run into times in this game where really, really challenging and sometimes emotional things have to take place," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There are decisions that have to be made. This was one of them that was really hard. It took some time and some contemplation before we got there, but we thought it was something that we had to do." Baldelli continued: "It’s just something that you’re not going to do unless you’re sure that it’s the right thing for the organization and for the team," Baldelli said. "To lose someone as meaningful as Duff, who has done so many great things for us as Duff, who has pitched in as many big ball games over the last basically half decade as probably almost anyone coming out of the 'pen in some very difficult situations time after time and overall doing really a heck of a job for us." The amount of praise the righthander received from Minnesota should give Royals’ fans something to look forward to this spring and throughout the season. Fans and the media are calling these signings a "no impact" type of signings. Duffey at one point was an important piece of the Twins bullpen. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the right-hander appeared in a total of 104 games. The 32-year old's pitching repertoire consists of a fastball, slider, cutter, curveball and a changeup. Duffey has plenty of options to choose from when he's on the mound whether that’s with the Royals or Omaha. What are the Royals hoping to get out of Duffey? The answer is an obvious one—a bounce back season. The team made it clear that pitching is their top priority this off-season. How will a minor league deal improve the bullpen? The Royals have a history of signing successful bounce back arms, even if it was a while ago and under a past front office. The most notable names in the past years were Peter Moylan and Homer Bailey. I'm not saying that Duffey is the next Moylan or Bailey for the Royals, but it's a minor league deal meaning it's a no risk high reward type of signing. I am hopeful that the righthander will be an important piece of the bullpen next season.

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