August 21: Canha has formally been launched, in line with the MLB.com transaction log.
August 18: The Royals introduced at the moment that outfielder Mark Canha, who was on the 10-day injured listing, has been returned from his rehab task and designated for task. The membership’s 40-man roster rely drops from 39 to 38.
Canha, 36, signed a minor league take care of the Brewers within the offseason. He had a looming opt-out date simply earlier than Opening Day however the Brewers evidently weren’t prepared to provide him a roster spot. They flipped Canha for a participant to be named later or money. The Royals gave him a roster spot to forestall him from opting out and later introduced minor league righty Cesar Espinal because the PTBNL.
The deal hasn’t labored out for the Royals. Canha has twice gone on the IL, as soon as for a left adductor pressure and extra not too long ago attributable to left elbow epicondylitis. Round these IL stints, he stepped to the plate 125 instances however produced a dismal .212/.272/.265 line.
The membership’s outfield carried out fairly poorly all through the primary half of the season, with Canha’s manufacturing simply a part of the image. His most up-to-date IL stint started in early July. Whereas he was on the shelf, loads modified, with the Royals buying and selling for Adam Frazier, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk. Canha began a rehab task a bit over every week in the past. Nonetheless, with the brand new additions to the roster, they’ve determined they don’t have room for him anymore.
He now heads into DFA limbo. With the commerce deadline having handed, he’ll be positioned on waivers. Given his efficiency and $1.4MM wage this yr, it appears unlikely any membership would declare him. If he clears, he has sufficient service time to reject an outright task and preserve that cash coming to him. It’s attainable the Royals skip that formality and easily launch him.
If he finally ends up on the open market, both by rejecting an outright task or being launched, the Royals will stay on the hook for that cash. At that time, one other membership might signal him and would solely must pay him the prorated $760K league minimal wage for any time spent on the roster, with that quantity subtracted from what the Royals pay.
Canha has loads of good seasons on his observe document and was a strong participant as not too long ago as final yr. He cut up 2024 between the Tigers and Giants, slashing .242/.344/.346 for a 102 wRC+. He additionally stole seven bases and performed all 4 nook spots. He hasn’t been at that degree in 2025 however maybe there’s a membership on the market who will focus extra on the bigger physique of labor.
Photograph courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Photographs
