{"id":115934,"date":"2026-03-19T22:48:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T02:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=115934"},"modified":"2026-03-19T22:48:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T02:48:39","slug":"former-pirates-bailey-falter-on-waivers-soon-royals-dfa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/19\/former-pirates-bailey-falter-on-waivers-soon-royals-dfa\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Pirates Starter May End Up on Waivers Very Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Pittsburgh Pirates sent starting pitcher Bailey Falter to the Kansas City Royals during <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/07\/31\/royals-acquire-left-handed-bailey-falter-pirates\/\" target=\"_self\">last year\u2019s trade deadline<\/a>. In return, the Bucs received left-handed reliever <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/siskev01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Sisk<\/a> and first base prospect <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=moss--000cal\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Callan Moss<\/a> for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/falteba01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.mlbtraderumors.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-18_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Falter<\/a>. However, the Pirates may soon see Falter on a new team. The Royals\u2019 rotation depth <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is packed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, and with no options remaining, Falter may end up on waivers at the end of spring training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Falter was originally a 2023 trade deadline pick-up by the Bucs. He established himself as a solid back-of-the-rotation arm in 2024 and continued that with the Pirates in 2025. Falter owned a 3.73 ERA, 4.91 FIP, and 1.182 WHIP over his first 113 1\/3 innings of 2025. The left-hander walked 8.5% of opponents, with just a 15.3% strikeout rate. Falter was also prone to home runs, with a 1.35 HR\/9 ratio.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: 610px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBFGuZPHjW\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 2952px; aspect-ratio: 2952\/4428;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h2>Former Pirates Pitcher Bailey Falter Could Soon Get Waived<\/h2>\n<h3>Falter Faltered with the Royals<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While Falter was a huge regression candidate, given his 5.20 SIERA and 5.03 xFIP, the Royals likely didn\u2019t predict he\u2019d fall off the rails as quickly as he did. He allowed 15 earned runs in just 12 innings of work. Falter only struck out 11 batters and walked seven. He also got taken deep twice. Falter made two starts, then moved to the bullpen for two more outings when veteran right-hander <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lorenmi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Lorenzen<\/a> returned from an injury of his own. Then, in late August, Falter was placed on the injured list with a left bicep contusion, ending his season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UFyVhVQ_r2E?si=dP-ieLZcNNegzZUx\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>No Room in the Rotation (Or in the Bullpen?)<\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As of right now, the Royals\u2019 rotation <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is set<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. 2024 breakout star <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/raganco01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cole Ragans<\/a> leads the Royals\u2019 rotation. He comes with a supporting cast of veterans <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wachami01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Wacha<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lugose01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Seth Lugo<\/a>, 2025 All-Star <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bubickr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kris Bubic<\/a>, and standout rookie <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/camerno01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Noah Cameron<\/a>. The Royals also have plenty of other depth rotation options besides Falter. Top 15 prospects <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=kudrna000ben\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Kudrna<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/avilalu02.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luinder Avila<\/a> are both on hand. The latter made his MLB debut in 2025 and was impressive in a small 14-inning sample size. The Royals also acquired <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/spencmi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Spence<\/a> from the Athletics in February. The Royals also have fellow 2025 trade deadline pick-up, Stephen Kolek. He will open the year on the IL, but he has started to get work off the mound and should be back in action at some point early in the 2026 season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/royals\/news\/royals-have-multiple-depth-options-for-2026-starting-rotation\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to Anne Rogers of <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">MLB.com<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, the Royals are open to moving Falter in a trade. The left-handed starter is controlled through the 2028 season and <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">is owed<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> $3.6 million this season. Another team may see him as a more valuable acquisition than signing one of the veteran starting pitchers still left on the free agent market. The other alternative for the Royals is to keep him in a sixth-starter\/long-relief swingman role. That would mean keeping him on the roster over Avila, Spence, and Kudrna. However, the possibility of a DFA is also on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Meanwhile, on the Pirates&#8217; End&#8230;<\/h3>\n<p>The Pirates also do not have room for a Bailey Falter reunion if the Royals end up moving on from the lefty starter. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skenepa01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Skenes<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kellemi03.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Keller<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/ashcrbr01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braxton Ashcraft<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chandbu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bubba Chandler<\/a> make up the team&#8217;s 1-4 starters. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mlodzca01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen Mlodzinski<\/a> has the inside track for the fifth rotation spot. If the Pirates want a left-handed starter, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/14\/hunter-barco-new-pitches-pirates-rotation-race\/\" target=\"_self\">they still have top prospect<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barcohu01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunter Barco<\/a>. On top of that, they have <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/u\/urquijo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jos\u00e9 Urquidy<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harrito03.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Thomas Harrington<\/a>. The Pirates also have their own set of talented top prospects. Both <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=dotel-000bla\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wilber Dotel<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=kelly-001ant\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Antwone Kelly<\/a> are among their best minor leaguers. The Pirates added to the 40-man roster in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The trade has worked out well for the Pirates thus far. Sisk was solid down the line for the Pirates and will likely reappear in the major leagues later this season. Moss caught fire at High-A Greensboro and put up a 184 wRC+ in 30 games. Meanwhile, Falter struggled badly after the trade, landed on the IL, and now may end up on a new team before the start of the 2026 season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates sent starting pitcher Bailey Falter to the Kansas City Royals during last year\u2019s trade deadline. In return, the Bucs received left-handed reliever Evan Sisk and first base prospect Callan Moss for Falter. However, the Pirates may soon see Falter on a new team. The Royals\u2019 rotation depth is packed, and with no [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5765,"featured_media":115966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"638","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,12,35,26],"tags":[6258,28972,4906,3632,5889,28839,726,2762,6371,165],"class_list":["post-115934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-royals","category-news","category-pirates","tag-bailey-falter","tag-braxton-ashcraft","tag-bubba-chandler","tag-carmen-mlodzinski","tag-cole-ragans","tag-kris-bubic","tag-michael-wacha","tag-mitch-keller","tag-paul-skenes","tag-seth-lugo"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115934"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115967,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115934\/revisions\/115967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}