Bailey Falter suffers embarrassing post-trade deadline fate in Royals' latest move

One of the notable players the Pittsburgh Pirates dealt at the 2025 trade deadline was left-handed starting pitcher Bailey Falter. The Pirates initially acquired Falter at the 2023 deadline from the Philadelphia Phillies for infielder Rodolfo Castro. Instead of retaining his control, the Pirates decided to capitalize on his solid 2025 season, dealing him to the Kansas City Royals for two prospects. While it is just about two weeks since the deadline, Falter has gotten off to such a poor start that the Royals are now moving him to their bullpen.

Prior to the trade, Falter had a 3.73 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, but any statistic beyond that was worrying. The lefty’s 8.5% walk rate wasn’t horrible, but he was only striking out 15.3% of opponents to go with it. Falter was getting hit hard too, with a 90.5 MPH exit velocity, 9.5% barrel rate, and 1.35 HR/9 ratio. Falter may have had a solid ERA, but had a 4.88 FIP, 4.96 xFIP, and a 5.13 SIERA. Despite giving up a ton of hard contact, his batting average on balls in play was just .236. The Pirates’ defense has been solid this year, but his career BABIP is .281. Regressing closer to the norm seemed inevitable. 

Since the trade, Falter has made two starts for the Royals. It’s a small sample size, but Falter has allowed nine earned runs on five walks and 11 hits in just eight innings of work. He has also surrendered two home runs. While it’s hard to come to the conclusion that Falter is ‘faltering’ in less than a whole game’s worth of innings pitched, it isn’t a good look to get bumped to the bullpen already.

Former Pirates starter Bailey Falter's first impression in Kansas City isn't going very well, to say the least.

It’s an even worse look for Falter when you see who he is getting moved to the bullpen for. The Royals are activating Michael Lorenzen from the IL and plan on slotting him into Falter’s rotation spot. It is not as if Lorezen has been highly effective this year when he has been healthy. In 99.2 IP, Lorenzen has a 4.61 ERA, 4.55 FIP, and 1.30 WHIP. He has a strong 6.8% walk rate, but has only struck out 20% of opponents. His 89.4 MPH exit velocity and 8.4% barrel rate are roughly league average, but his 1.54 HR/9 is not.

It’s not as if Lorenzen is a long-term piece of the Royals’ rotation, either. He is 33 years old and a free agent at the end of the year (it is unlikely that his mutual option will be picked up). Falter is only 28 and is still under control through the 2028 season. Lorenzen is also much more experienced out of the bullpen than Falter is. Less than 30% of Lorenzen’s 386 career games as a pitcher have been starts. He has 275 appearances as a reliever. On the other hand, nearly 75% of Falter’s appearances in the bigs have been starts, with 29 of his 112 total appearances coming out of the bullpen. 

Falter getting moved to the bullpen is one thing. The Royals also have a strong rotation, and that’s not including Cole Ragans, who has been on the IL most of the year. But getting moved for an older veteran rental who hasn’t done much to begin with this season is another thing. Falter’s best chance at regaining value is to pitch well in a long-relief role down the stretch for the Royals. The Pirates reportedly saw Falter as a non-tender candidate, and based on how the Royals are treating him so far, it wouldn’t be a shock if they held a similar view.