Royals Outright Drew Waters

The Royals announced that outfielder Drew Waters cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha. He has the right to elect free agency but the Royals didn’t say whether or not he would do so. Waters, now 27, was once a prospect of note with Atlanta. He was sent to Kansas City in July of 2022, one of three players the Royals received in exchange for a competitive balance draft pick. He hasn’t been able to deliver on his prospect potential, however. From 2022 through 2025, he got into 208 games for the Royals. His defense was solid but not outstanding. Offensively, his 31.1% strikeout rate was awful and his 7.6% walk rate subpar as well. That led to a combined line of .234/.300/.369 and a wRC+ of 84, indicating he was 16% worse than league average at the plate. He exhausted his option years and came into 2026 out of options. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster and was designated for assignment in March. The 29 other clubs passed on a chance to grab him from waivers, which allowed the Royals to send him to Triple-A. Since that was his first career outright and he had less than three years of service time, he had to accept the assignment. In Triple-A, he didn’t do much to improve his stock. His 25.2% strikeout rate was better than his major league work but still higher than average. His .251/.312/.420 line looks nice at first blush but offense is up throughout the minors, so that showing is actually subpar, hence his 85 wRC+. The Royals selected him back to the 40-man when rosters expanded from 26 to 28 earlier this week but it seems they didn’t plan on him sticking around for long. The very next day, Michael Massey returned from a minimal stint on the seven-day concussion IL and Waters was bumped back off. Once again, 29 clubs have passed on the chance to grab Waters from waivers. Since this is his second outright, he has the right to elect free agency. If he were to do so, he would surely be limited to minor league offers. Perhaps he will stick with Omaha for a few more weeks. At season’s end, he would qualify for seven-year minor league free agency if not added back to the roster. Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images View Comments (0)