Former San Diego Padres pitcher Jordan Lyles has been released by the Kansas City Royals, three months after being placed on the team’s restricted list for personal reasons.
Lyles was added to the restricted list on April 22. Despite returning to the Royals in June, he did not rejoin the 26-man roster and was ultimately released after going unclaimed on unconditional release waivers.
“This is still an ongoing situation, so out of respect for Jordan and the personal nature of it, we don’t want to comment too much,” Royals senior vice president/assistant general manager Scott Sharp said, via MLB.com’s Anne Rogers. “We wish him well moving forward. Due to certain rules and restrictions, we had to make a decision. The best decision for the organization was to release Jordan Lyles.”
Lyles did not secure a spot in the Royals’ starting rotation before Opening Day and was used as a reliever at the start of the 2024 season. In five appearances and five innings pitched, Lyles allowed two hits, zero earned runs, struck out three, and maintained a 0.00 ERA. This was a promising start, especially compared to his 6-17 record and 6.28 ERA in 31 starts with the Royals in 2023.
Lyles was initially drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2011 and spent three seasons with the Astros before being traded to the Colorado Rockies. After three and a half seasons in Denver, Lyles was released on August 1, 2017, and signed with the Padres on a minor league deal a week later.
During his time with the Padres in 2017, Lyles made five starts, going 1-3 with a 9.39 ERA. He returned for the 2018 season, improving to a 4.29 ERA in eight starts and 24 games. However, his stint with San Diego ended when he was claimed off trade waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers on August 5, 2018.
Since then, Lyles has pitched for the Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and the Royals.
