The Kansas City Royals released pitcher Asa Lacy on Monday, ending the 26-year-old's six-year stint in the organization. Lacy, selected fourth overall in the 2020 MLB Draft, struggled with injuries that limited him to 80 innings in affiliated baseball. Royals director of player development Mitch Maier said the move aims to benefit both Lacy and the team.
Kansas City signed Lacy, a left-handed pitcher from Texas A&M, to a franchise-record $6.67 million bonus after drafting him No. 4 overall in 2020. He reached as high as No. 30 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list in 2021. However, command issues early on gave way to a series of injuries, including a lat/shoulder problem in 2021, back injuries in 2022 and 2023, and two Tommy John surgeries—one after the 2023 season and another in 2025. Lacy has been rehabbing at the Royals' Arizona complex and has not pitched in an affiliated game since August 18, 2022, with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he posted a 7.09 ERA over 80 innings in 29 games, 19 starts. Mitch Maier explained the decision: “We just got to the point where we felt like it was best for both Asa in the pursuit of the rest of his career and our organization. Different scenery. Relieve some of those pressures.” He added that Lacy remains talented but the organization was not seeing progress. Lacy was approaching minor league free agency at season's end after spending much of the past four years in rehab. Maier expressed disappointment but praised the medical team's efforts and Lacy's work ethic. “It’s difficult. He’s extremely talented... But hopefully this is the best decision to help Asa in the long run and for the organization.”
