Minor league signing could pay major dividends for Royals

Kansas City, MO — In a move that costs little yet carries the potential for a substantial payoff, the Kansas City Royals on Friday signed veteran left-hander John Means to a two-year minor-league contract. The 32-year-old, who tore his Achilles tendon in December, is expected to miss most—if not all—of the 2026 campaign, but the Royals are clearly playing a long game.

Means arrived on the major-league scene in 2019, earning American League Rookie of the Year runner-up honors and an All-Star selection while anchoring the middle of Baltimore’s rotation. Since that breakout season, however, injuries have dominated his résumé: he has logged 10 or more appearances only once and has taken the hill just 10 times since Opening Day 2022. A second Tommy John procedure wiped out his entire 2025 season, meaning that by the time he is ready to face big-league hitters again he will have spent roughly five years in and out of action.

When healthy, Means has demonstrated the precise command and contact-suppression skills that play in any ballpark. Across 401 career innings he owns a 3.68 ERA, a 1.050 WHIP, and a 334-to-79 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponents have managed only a .226/.269/.420 slash line in 1,621 plate appearances against him, evidence of his ability to limit hard contact and keep the ball in the yard.

For the Royals, the calculus is straightforward. They will oversee every step of his rehab, providing medical resources and minor-league innings to gauge how much of his former effectiveness remains. If the lefty regains anything close to his 2018-21 form, Kansas City could have a rotation bargain on its hands. If not, the club can part ways with minimal financial pain.

It is the archetype of a low-risk, high-reward gamble—one the Royals hope looks prescient when Means finally climbs back on a major-league mound, presumably in 2027 and at age 34.