Royals Sign Veteran Brandon Drury to Minor-League Deal, Non-Roster Spring Invite

Kansas City added a familiar name to its spring pileup by signing 33-year-old Brandon Drury to a minor-league contract with an invitation to major-league spring training. The move boosts the Royals’ depth chart with a right-handed hitter who can play first base, second base, third base and some corners in the outfield, and it gives manager and coaches another veteran bat to evaluate in Surprise.

Drury arrives with a mixed recent resume. He remains best known for a breakout stretch in 2022 and 2023 when he produced back-to-back 25-plus home run campaigns and earned a Silver Slugger in 2022. Depending on the source, that 2022 season has been reported as a .263/.320/.492 line with 28 home runs and also as a .274/.335/.520 line with 44 extra-base hits in 92 games. He followed with roughly 26 home runs in 2023 and produced more than 2.5 fWAR across those seasons, evidence of legitimate middle-tier power and run production when given regular at-bats.

What changed was availability and performance after signing a two-year, $17 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Drury’s production dipped; one report put his 2024 major-league line at .169 with four home runs in 97 games. A bright spring training showing the following year was erased by a late-camp broken thumb, and Drury did not appear in the big leagues in the most recent season. He finished the year in the minors with a .214/.338/.323 slash in roughly 228 plate appearances, or 53 games with 14 extra-base hits, depending on the accounting.

From a roster-construction standpoint, the Royals are making a straightforward, low-cost bet. Kansas City has needs across the corners and a bench spot for a right-handed power option, and Drury’s ability to fit multiple roles is the specific value proposition. He will compete with Michael Massey, Nick Loftin, Tyler Tolbert and several veteran non-roster invitees including Connor Kasier, Kevin Newman, Josh Rojas and Abraham Toro for a reserve infield or bench utility position. The signing dovetails with the Royals’ pattern of filling spring camp with veteran depth; the club has also added minor-league deals for veteran pitchers in recent months.

Culturally and commercially, the Drury signing tracks a broader industry trend: teams are increasingly willing to invest minimal dollars in veteran utility bats whose upside still lives in recent performance spikes. For fans, Drury’s signing is a classic minor-league gamble with a high-reward payoff if health and timing line up. There is also a human element to the move. Drury’s career has been a journeyman arc since his draft in 2010, and the Royals’ scouting director has prior familiarity with him dating to those Braves scouting files, which helps explain the club’s interest.

What comes next is simple: Drury must translate past pop into present consistency in big-league camp. If he rediscovers the swing that produced Silver Slugger-level results, Kansas City gains a veteran option without blowing a 40-man slot. If not, the Royals will have added a low-risk depth piece and more clarity on where they stand at the reserve infield and bench corners heading into the season.