Los Angeles Dodgers Sign Veteran Pitcher Jordan Lyles to Minor League Contract

Jordan Lyles, who was recently let go by the Kansas City Royals, kept his career alive by signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.

Apr 11, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles (24) delivers a pitch against the Houston Astros in the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles to a minor league contract, The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Thursday morning.

Lyles began the season with the Kansas City Royals, but he hit the restricted list on April 20 due to personal matters. He remained sidelined for the next two months, until the Royals ultimately released him last Saturday.

That made Lyles a free agent, and it took him a matter of days to find a new home.

Hearing Jordan Lyles is signing a minors deal with Dodgers

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 25, 2024

Before taking time off, Lyles had a 0.00 ERA, 0.800 WHIP and 0.2 WAR through five relief appearances in 2024.

Lyles, 33, spent the majority of his career as a starting pitcher before this season. It remains to be seen how the Dodgers plan to use him, considering they just designated veteran starter James Paxton for assignment.

Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow may have just come off the injured list, but Los Angeles is still missing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dustin May, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin and Emmet Sheehan from its starting rotation.

However, Lyles' recent track record as a starter may scare the Dodgers off from rushing him into the rotation, if they do wind up promoting him.

Lyles led the American League with 17 losses in 2023, going 6-17 with a 6.28 ERA and -1.2 WAR in 31 starts with the Royals. He allowed the most earned runs in the AL in three of the last four seasons, on top of giving up the most home runs in 2021.

Since making his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2011, Lyles is 72-107 with a 5.22 ERA, 1.404 WHIP, 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a -2.5 WAR. Along the way, though, the Astros, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Royals combined to pay him $53 million.

Lyles was nearing the end of a two-year, $17 million contract before the Royals released him last week.

While he has posted an ERA over 5.20 with six of the eight teams he's played for, Lyles did go 8-1 with a 2.64 ERA and 2.0 WAR as a member of the Brewers between 2018 and 2019. He also went 12-11 with a 4.22 ERA and 0.7 WAR with the Orioles as recently as 2022.

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