Former Blue Jays Number One Pick Signs With Royals
Jordan Groshans, the Toronto Blue Jays former first round draft pick in 2018, has signed a minor-league contract with the Kansas City Royals.
After receiving a $3.4 million signing bonus, Groshans has had a slow and injury-prone development, which was exacerbated even further by the COVID-19 Pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season. During his first minor league season, 2019, he appeared in only 23 games due to a foot injury, and then in 2021, the year after the pandemic, he missed playing time due to a sore back and was also shut down at the end of the season.
He finally broke into the majors in 2022, appearing in a handful of games with the Miami Marlins after the Blue Jays traded him for Anthony Bass, Zach Pop, and a player to be named later (ultimately revealed as Edward Duran). The Blue Jays appear to have won that trade. While Bass was unceremoniously hustled out of town, Pop is still with the team, after having a successful couple of seasons.
In his 17 game stint with the Marlins he slashed .262./.308./.311./ with one home run and two RBIs and an OPS+ of 76. He did hit his first - and so far only - major league home run off of Noah Syndegaard though.
After starting the year with Triple-A Jacksonville, Groshans ultimately spent the entire 2023 season there. His numbers didn't improve substantially, as he hit 244/.339/.330 with six home runs in 125 games. He was designated for assignment before the start of the next season.
After being claimed by the Yankees and then waived two weeks later, he spent the majority of the 2024 season in the Oakland A's system, this time in Double-A where he hit only .239/.312/.352 with three home runs in 51 games. Groshans chose to become a free agent at the end of the season.
He signed with Kansas City on December 3rd.
At 26, Jordan Groshans still has time to have a successful and impactful Major League career, but the window is closing. Hopefully, he can find his way with the Royals.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 4 | 75 ANSWERS Former Blue Jays Number One Pick Signs With Royals Will Jordan Groshans play in the majors this season? | ||
| Yes | 30 | 40 % |
| No | 45 | 60 % |
| List of polls | ||
