Starling Marte's stint in Kansas City is officially over. The Royals released the veteran outfielder after he cleared waivers unclaimed, ending an experiment that never got off the ground.
The writing was on the wall for a while. Marte signed a 1-year deal with the Royals back in March worth $1 million guaranteed plus $2 million in incentives, a low-risk bet on a former 2-time All-Star who'd been a fan favorite in Pittsburgh and New York. Kansas City needed outfield help — badly — and figured a cheap veteran flier was worth the swing.
It just never worked. Marte hit.242/.298/.314 with 2 homers and 2 steals across 158 plate appearances, a 71 wRC+ that put him well below league average at the plate. That's a steep drop from the.269/.331/.398 line he put up with the Mets in 2024-2025, and at 37 the decline has looked more like the end of the road than a slump.
The Royals designated him for assignment earlier this week to clear roster space after activating Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia off the injured list and recalling pitcher Connor Thomas. With Kansas City out of the postseason race and Marte sitting fourth or fifth on the outfield depth chart, nobody around the league bothered to put in a claim.
So now it's a straight release, and Kansas City is still on the hook for the remainder of his deal. For Marte, it's a quiet way for a solid career to hit a rough stretch — a 2-time All-Star trying to catch on somewhere down the stretch, if anyone's willing to take a look.