Former Padres first-round pick gets DFA'd as Royals reach breaking point

Hunter Renfroe - the 13th overall pick by the Padres in the 2013 MLB Draft - was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on Friday. As the Royals sit at 28-23 and are placed five games back of the American League Central leading Detroit Tigers, they parted ways with the former Padres outfielder given his lackluster start to 2025. They called up utility man Nick Loftin in a corresponding move.

Slashing just .182/.241/.242, Renfroe has been one of the worst hitters in baseball this season. He’s been worth -1.5 WAR per Baseball Reference, and has yet to send a single ball over the fence. After back-to-back down years with the Angels, Reds, and Royals, it appears the former “future of the Padres” may be well on his way out of the league.

And while yes, the argument can be made that the season is still young and Renfroe can still provide value to some teams, it may just be the natural decline of a baseball player occurring. Renfroe’s average exit velocity has been 88.5 MPH, and he is barreling balls only 6.3 percent of the time (per FanGraphs). Both of those are low, with the latter being a career-low for Renfroe.

It is incredibly likely given his contract that Renfroe clears waivers and is released in the next week or so, and the natural wonder would be if a homecoming could help rejuvenate the former slugger’s career as he provides depth for this Padres squad. Given Jason Hayward’s poor offensive results in 2025, there is a need for outfielders that can provide pop. Renfroe has been known to do that, and it is a largely low-risk move the Friars could consider. There are alternatives to bringing in Refroe or another veteran outfielder to replace Heyward, such as giving Brandon Lockridge the keys to the outfield.

While Renfroe is not one of the worst draft picks in Padres history, he had a largely underwhelming MLB career given his draft pedigree and resume as a top prospect. And it does seem like his career is seemingly coming to an end given the lack of pop he provides at the plate now. If there is a team that decides to give Renfroe one last chance in the big leagues, the Padres could be the ones to offer a few at-bats over the next few weeks if they decide to pivot off of Heyward as an everyday player.