Kansas City Royals left-hander Jake Brentz (lat) threw his first live batting practice session in camp on Saturday and sat around 95-96 mph with his fastball. It's been nearly two years since he last took the mound in the big leagues in April of 2022 and it's been a year and a half since he had Tommy John surgery in July of 2022. Brentz suffered a lat strain that ended his 2023 season when he was coming back from elbow surgery last year. The 29-year-old southpaw is competing for a spot in the Royals' bullpen in spring training and would offer a high-powered lefty arm for earlier in the game while lefty closer William Smith handles the ninth. If he makes the team, Brentz will most likely be pitching in a low-leverage relief role for KC, which won't give him any fantasy appeal.
The Kanas City Royals signed left-hander Jake Brentz to an undisclosed two-year extension on Thursday. Brentz will miss all of this season after having Tommy John surgery on his left elbow last July. The 28-year-old southpaw reliever made just eight relief appearances for the Royals before his injury in 2022 in just his second major-league season, and he allowed 11 hits and 15 runs (14 earned) while walking 10 and striking out nine in just 5 1/3 innings pitched. In 2021, he had a 3.66 ERA (4.23 FIP), 1.28 WHIP, two saves and 76 strikeouts in 64 relief innings. Brentz is obviously well off the fantasy radar for now.
The Kansas City Royals placed relief pitcher Jake Brentz (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list on Monday due to left shoulder impingement syndrome. The move is retroactive to August 21. The team reinstated fellow reliever Kyle Zimmer (neck) in a corresponding move. It doesn't sound as if Brentz will miss extended time with the injury. The 26-year-old southpaw has been solid in his first tour of the majors this year. Over 59 appearances, he has a 3.15 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He earned his first two saves of the year this month and he has 13 holds on the season.
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Jake Brentz converted his second save of the year in the team's 3-1 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday. Brentz pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the game, allowing two walks and no hits while striking out two. Brentz has recorded two of the team's three saves this month, with Richard Lovelady earning the third. The Royals' bullpen situation is certainly a bit of a mess right now. It's hard to know who will be called upon for the next save as Greg Holland and Scott Barlow seemed like the top candidates in late July, but neither has recorded a save since July 26. Brentz has had a solid year with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP over 53.1 innings. Unless we see Brentz earn one or two more save opportunities soon, he can remain on the waiver wire in all leagues.
Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Jake Brentz closed out the team's 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday to earn his first career MLB save. Brentz pitched a perfect ninth inning, allowing no hits or walks while striking out one. The 26-year-old Brentz has a 3.21 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 47.2 innings on the year. The Royals have gone with a lot of different closers over the past month. Greg Holland, Scott Barlow and Wade Davis have each recorded saves over the past 20 days. The Royals are clearly going with a closer-by-committee approach and they don't have a reliable source of saves for fantasy purposes at this point.
