Royals send former Braves top-100 prospect to Triple-A

It cannot be easy to be sent to the minors, but it might be even harder, mentally, to pass through waivers and then be headed there. 

That's what happened to outfielder Drew Waters of the Kansas City Royals. Waters was designated for assignment by the Royals last week but was not selected by any of the other 29 clubs on waivers. 

The 27-year-old is out of minor league options and has been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha. He is a former top 100 prospect of the Atlanta Braves and was acquired by Kansas City in a 2022 trade. 

"Unfortunately for both Waters and the Royals, he has hit only .233/.296/.349 over 575 PA since Opening Day 2023," Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors wrote Sunday. "He might have received less playing time if it wasn’t for the Royals’ near-total lack of production from their outfielders as a whole over the last few years, so Waters kept getting chances." 

How Waters can earn playing time with Royals 

Given his recent track record at the plate, Waters may need one of the Major League outfielders to suffer an injury for him to receive significant playing time with the Royals in 2026. 

Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel, and Isaac Collins make up the starting unit against right-handed pitching, and veterans Lane Thomas and Starling Marte were brought in to face southpaws and hopefully, provide a little more power than the Royals have had in recent seasons. 

Waters needs a strong start to the year for Kansas City to take notice and have no choice but to call him up. 

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