Kansas City Royals Sign Junior Fernández, Taylor Clarke to Minor League Contracts

Taylor Clarke is rejoining the Kansas City Royals' organization after a year with the Milwaukee Brewers, while former St. Louis Cardinals righty Junior Fernández is looking to return to MLB himself.

Aug 28, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Junior Fernandez (44) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the eighth inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals have signed right-handed relief pitchers Junior Fernández and Taylor Clarke to minor league contracts, the team announced Friday.

Clarke spent 2022 and 2023 with the Royals, making 105 appearances before getting traded to the Milwaukee Brewers last December. The 31-year-old spent all of 2024 in Triple-A, tossing 68.0 innings after returning from knee surgery in May.

Across his 15 starts and seven relief outings, Clarke went 2-4 with a 4.90 ERA, 1.324 WHIP and 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings down in the minors this season.

Clarke, who was once a top prospect in the Arizona Diamondbacks' system, had a career year in Kansas City in 2022. He went 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA, 1.184 WHIP and a 0.6 WAR. His 2023 numbers weren't quite as pretty, as he went 3-6 with a 5.95 ERA, 1.610 WHIP and -0.9 WAR.

As for Fernández, he hasn't seen MLB action since the end of the 2022 season. He had just gotten claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates, marking an end to his eight-year tenure in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization.

Fernández bounced around between the Pirates, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays that offseason, and the Blue Jays wound up releasing him the following August. He rounded out the season in the Washington Nationals' farm system, only to head overseas last December.

Shoulder surgery limited Fernández to just two appearances with the Chiba Lotte Marines, both of which were scoreless.

Fernández is 1-1 with a 5.17 ERA and 1.722 WHIP in the MLB career, compared to his 26-28 record, 3.95 ERA and 1.427 WHIP in the minors.

Clarke and Fernández will join the Royals for their big league Spring Training camp in 2025.

Kansas City's bullpen ranked No. 19 in MLB with a 4.13 ERA in 2024.

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