The following article appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal on May 18 – you can read it by clicking here.
Homer Bailey says the thought his career might be over after 2018 never crossed his mind. But over the winter he had plenty of doubters.
Bailey signed with the Kansas City Royals to a minor league contract when it would seem few other teams were interested. Royals general manager Dayton Moore is known for turning over rocks in search of rebuilding help, and Bailey was worth the minimal risk.
Bailey isn’t setting any worlds on fire yet, but the results are positive enough.
Embarrassing as it was, you can discard Thursday’s disaster in which Bailey was drubbed after four solid innings. The defense behind him was much of the problem. Bailey entered Thursday with a 4-3 record in eight starts, a 4.83 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in 41 innings.
Bailey has been arguably the Royals best starter in 2019, though that bar isn’t set very high. Brad Keller, Jorge Lopez and Jakob Junis have all struggled, and Danny Duffy was late to the party due to injury. While he’s had a couple of rough outings, Bailey has also had a few very good ones. He two-hit the Cleveland Indians over seven shutout innings on April 13, then five days later he held the New York Yankees to just three hits and a run over six innings. On May 10, he held the powerful Philadelphia Phillies to just one run on four hits over five innings.
“We’ve got a couple of months ahead of us before we can say that (it’s been successful), but it feels great right now,” the 33-year-old said recently.
Bailey wasn’t assured much when he signed with the Royals. He had a glossy resume, but everything good on it was outdated. In fact, the veteran pitcher hadn’t posted an ERA below 5.56 since the Royals reached the 2014 World Series. His 9-27 record wasn’t just the product of pitching for the dreadful Cincinnati Reds. He was flat out bad, for a long period of time.
What now seems like ages ago, the Reds once placed the hope of their future on Bailey’s shoulders, and seemed well on the way to being rewarded for that faith. The seventh player picked in the 2004 amateur draft, by 2009 Bailey was one of a group of hot young pitchers that included starters Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake. Edinson Volquez, and flame-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman. Those young guns helped the Reds finish first in the National League Central in 2010 and again in 2012.
Bailey’s career reached its zenith when he fired a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in September 2012, then repeated the feat against the San Francisco Giants in July 2013. Foreseeing greatness in his future, the Reds invested $105 million in the next six years of his career.
It all went downhill from there, and fast. Off to a good start in 2014, Bailey was shelved midseason due to “arm fatigue.” The problem eventually led to diagnosis of torn ulnar collateral ligament, which necessitated Tommy John surgery. Other injuries and surgeries followed, and both Bailey and the Reds went off the deep end.
Things hit rock bottom when, finally relatively healthy in 2018, Bailey was saddled with an embarrassing 1-14 record for the hapless Reds. Desperate to off-load some of his onerous contract, the Reds traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who promptly gave him his release.
Still believing in himself, Bailey sought a place to recover. Enter Moore and Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred.
“I never had any notions that I wasn’t going to get the chance somewhere,” Bailey said. “I was prepared for this season to happen, I just didn’t know where for a while. After talking to Dayton and Cal this offseason, it felt like this was going to be a really good fit this year.
Bailey was guaranteed little aside from a chance in spring training. But Bailey knew better than anyone the status of his health, and he believed a return to the majors was a good bet. He sensed his best shot was with the Royals.
“The conversations I had with Dayton and also with Cal were what it took,” said the 13-year veteran. “Talking with Cal about how he likes to prepare different things, and his philosophy about pitching in general, it seemed like he was just a really good fit for me personally. It felt like he was someone I would work really well with.”
Moore has shown that reclamation projects like Bailey are one of his strong suits. Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen, Joe Blanton, Peter Moylan, Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Minor are all pitchers the Royals have scooped up off the scrap heap and reinvigorated.
Moore’s motivation is not just to find quality pitching to fortify the Royals’ staff. He sees the opportunity to turn discarded pitchers into tradable assets. A player like Bailey on a one-year contract who performs well for half the season could be flipped for minor leaguers that bolster the franchise’s rebuild. He was never seen as a long-term piece for the Royals. But he could bring them some prospects who help make the Royals winners again.
It’s certainly a promising scenario for Bailey. Just a few months ago, he had little opportunity to make a big-league roster. Now he seems destined to be dealt to a playoff team by August. And if his effectiveness holds out, he might be in line for another multi-year contract in 2020.