Royals claim Pham, Grossman off waivers; trade for Yuli Gurriel

The Kansas City Royals are loading up on bats for the stretch run.

The Royals claimed outfielder Tommy Pham off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals and Robbie Grossman from the Texas Rangers, the club announced Saturday.

Kansas City also acquired veteran first baseman Yuli Gurriel from the Atlanta Braves for cash in a minor-league deal.

St. Louis designated Pham for assignment on Friday after placing him on waivers earlier in the week. He owns a .698 OPS across 93 games split between the Cardinals and Chicago White Sox this season.

Grossman, meanwhile, posted a .657 OPS across 71 games with the White Sox and Rangers in 2024.

Gurriel, 40, last played in the majors for the Miami Marlins in 2023, slashing .245/.304/.359 with four homers and 27 RBIs over 108 games. The 2021 AL batting champion went deep 12 times with an .863 OPS over 75 contests in Triple-A this season.

Kansas City - currently without Vinnie Pasquantino and Hunter Renfroe - entered Saturday occupying the second AL Wild Card spot with its first playoff appearance since 2015 well within reach.

Both Pham and Grossman would be eligible to make a potential Royals playoff roster. The former is hitting .313/.333/.513 across 31 career postseason games.

The pair is slated for free agency at season's end.