Placing high value on pitching depth, Royals acquire Spence from A's 

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Reliever A.J. Causey was just beginning to stretch and prepare for his first live bullpen session at his first big league camp on Thursday when he was pulled to the side and told that he had just been traded.

The Royals finalized a deal that sent Causey, their fifth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and a non-roster invitee this spring, to the A’s for right-hander Mitch Spence, a pitcher with Major League experience as both a starter and reliever.

To make room for Spence on the 40-man roster, the Royals placed righty Alec Marsh on the 60-day injured list. Marsh underwent a right labral repair in October and will likely miss the entire season.

TRADE DETAILS
Royals get: RHP Mitch Spence
A’s get: Minor League RHP A.J. Causey

“You’re always looking for starter depth,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “I think in a year where you got guys in the [World Baseball Classic], you never have enough starting pitching anyway. Mitch was the first pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft in ‘23 going into ‘24. He’s a strike-thrower, has multiple pitches, has starting experience, and you just want to have that depth in your organization.

"Obviously, we’ve got some starting pitching, but in this case, it was an opportunity to get somebody with options that can help us out. Who knows how the year will go, but it made a lot of sense for us when you think about roster management.”

The Royals were interested in Spence ahead of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but the A’s scooped him up from the Yankees with the first pick. In ‘24, he posted a 4.58 ERA across 35 appearances (24 starts). Last season, Spence made 32 appearances (eight starts) and finished the season with a 5.10 ERA. Spence has had very low walk rates throughout his career -- including 6.8% in his two big league seasons -- and operates with five pitches, with his breaking balls getting quite a bit of swing and miss.

Spence’s experience in both the rotation and bullpen, as well as the two Minor League options he has remaining, were what made him a target for the Royals on Thursday morning after they learned he had been designated for assignment by the A’s.

With Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic pretty much set in the rotation, barring injuries, the Royals are looking at the fifth spot as a competition -- with Noah Cameron likely having the upper hand because of how he pitched last year as a rookie. But there are also several other starters trying to earn that spot, including Bailey Falter, Ryan Bergert, Luinder Avila, Stephen Kolek and Mason Black. Spence will join that group and build up as a starter in camp.

Falter is the only one of that group out of options; if the rest do end up in Triple-A, that’s valuable depth for the Royals.

“Right now, we’d like to have as many optionable starting pitchers in Triple-A,” Picollo said. “Because whatever happens, now you have multiple guys you could potentially call up. A lot of times during the season, it’s just timing. If a guy pitches on a Tuesday, and now out of nowhere we need a starter on Thursday, that guy’s not available. So the more guys we can have in our Triple-A rotation ... now it’s just whoever slides in or falls on that day we need them.

“They need to be performing well enough, too, but it helps us manage the year and not try to finagle things as we go.”

That mindset can be applied to the bullpen, as well, especially with pitchers like Avila and Spence already with relief experience. The Royals view the final spots in their bullpen as open for competition this spring, and it’ll help to have pitchers with options there, too, especially when so much of the unit is fixed with veterans like Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg, Matt Strahm, John Schreiber and Nick Mears.

As Spring Training fully gets underway, the Royals are continuing to look for ways to make moves and upgrade their team. They’re always looking for pitching, but Picollo mentioned a right-handed hitter might be a target, too.

“I think it’s about how that player fits on our current roster to make it make sense,” Picollo said. “Right-handed is maybe a little bit easier to slide in a piece. Where left-handed, it’s got to be a more prominent move because we have enough left-handed hitters we think can be a part of our 26-man roster and allow us to operate the way we want to.

“... I don’t want to say I expect moves, but you want to be opportunistic.”