KANSAS CITY, MO. – The Kansas City Royals announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Taylor Clarke to a one-year Major League contract. The Royals’ Major League Reserve List is now at 40.
Clarke, 28, has spent his entire three-year Major League career with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who selected him in the third round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston. Clarke finished second among Diamondbacks in 2021 with a career-high 43 relief appearances, despite spending seven weeks on the Injured List from June 15-Aug. 4. He allowed three home runs over his first seven appearances (9.1 IP) of the season, but allowed just one homer over his last 36 outings (34.0 IP) from April 21-Sept. 5, and had a stretch of 19 appearances from May 4-June 14 in which he pitched to a 2.37 ERA (5 ER in 19.0 IP).
Clarke made his Major League debut in 2019 and pitched a career-best 84.2 innings with Arizona. In his first two big league seasons, 20 of his 35 appearances came as a starting pitcher, before he made all 43 of his appearances in relief in 2021. He recorded at least one strikeout in each of his first 26 career relief appearances from April 20, 2019-April 30, 2021 to establish a new Major League record to begin a career, according to Elias, besting the previous mark held by Tyler Glasnow (24 from 2016-18).
