Taylor Clarke signed a one-year deal with the Royals on Wednesday after being non-tendered by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Kansas City Royals made a free agent signing before Major League Baseball’s lockout began.
Taylor Clarke, a right-handed pitcher who was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks, signed a one-year deal with the Royals on Wednesday.
The deal is just for the 2022 season and is paid $975,000, with a $200,000 Minor League assignment split.
Clarke had a career 4.99 ERA in 171.1 innings thrown with the Diamondbacks before becoming a free agent.
He pitched most of those innings as a starter, but he currently works exclusively as a reliever.
In 2021, he had a 4.98 ERA, a 3.54 FIP, and a.350 BABIP, which was a career best. He was better than his ERA this season, according to the peripherals.
Clarke missed over two months of activity due to a shoulder injury, and the disparity between his pre- and post-injury performances is astounding.
He had a 3.41 ERA (3.23 FIP) with a 9/32 K/BB ratio in 33.2 innings pitched before that. His opponents only hit.256 off him.
After returning, his ERA rose to 9.31 (4.62 FIP) in just under 10 innings of work, with a 5/7 K/BB ratio. Every time he threw a pitch, his opponents saw a beach ball, and they hit.391 against him.
Clarke had a K/9 of 8.1 and a BB/9 of 2.91 on the year, despite his poor post-injury figures.
He dramatically reduced his walk rate (his BB/9 was 4.36 in 2020), as well as his HR/9 (1.66 in 2020 to 0.83 in 2021).
When you combine it with steady velocity despite the injury, it’s easy to see how Clarke’s season had more to it than meets the eye.