MLB Trade Rumors broke it first and it's now official: the Royals have DFA'd outfielder Kameron Misner, opening a 40-man spot with the trade deadline bearing down and roster crunches happening league-wide.
MLB Trade Rumors flagged the move as it broke on Wednesday.
The corresponding move that pushed Misner out the door was Kansas City adding pitcher Nate Pearson, acquired from the Astros, to the active roster. Somebody had to go to make the numbers work, and it wound up being the 28-year-old outfielder who never really got going at the plate.
That's the brutal part for Misner. In 18 games with the Royals this season he hit just.220/.256/.244 across 44 plate appearances, and his career big-league line now sits at.206/.259/.312 over 276 at-bats. The eye-popping raw power and speed that made him a first-round pick just hasn't shown up on the biggest stage yet.
What makes this one sting is the gap between his two levels. Down at Triple-A Omaha this year, Misner was mashing — a.286/.378/.563 line with 14 home runs, 14 stolen bases and a 12.6% walk rate, exactly the kind of five-tool production that got him drafted 35th overall by the Marlins back in 2019. He's been traded twice since then, first from Miami to Tampa Bay in the Joey Wendle deal, then from the Rays to Kansas City this past November. Neither stop has produced the big-league breakout the tools suggested was coming.
Now the clock is running. Misner has to be traded, claimed off waivers, or released within the standard window, and the waiver process alone can stretch that out close to a week. Given his age and the fact he's clearly still hitting at the highest level of the minors, it wouldn't be shocking if another club with an outfield need takes a flier — the track record of tools not yet translating is exactly the profile rebuilding teams like to gamble on in late July.
For the Royals, it's a minor procedural move buried in a busy stretch — but it's also a reminder that even former first-rounders are one DFA away from a fresh start somewhere else. Whether Misner gets that fresh start in Kansas City's system or a new one entirely should shake out within the week.