Chicago Cubs
fromMLB Trade Rumors
1 day agoRoyals Sign Kevin Newman, Jose Cuas To Minor League Deals
The Royals signed infielder Kevin Newman and reliever Cuas to minor-league contracts; Newman received a non-roster Spring Training invite.
Amaya joins the system after spending the 2025 season with the White Sox. He appeared in a career-high 36 games but only batted .106 with one extra-base hit (a double) in 73 trips to the plate. The 27-year-old spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Charlotte. He hit .250/.352/.420 with nine homers across 219 plate appearances. He posted decent batted ball metrics but struck out in 29% of his trips to the dish.
Rooney elected minor league free agency after being outrighted by the Astros at the beginning of the offseason. The 28-year-old had a brief stint with Houston, who acquired him from the Marlins in a small trade in August. The Astros called him up for his big league debut three weeks later. Rooney struck out two of six batters faced while giving up a solo home run to Luis Vázquez in his only appearance.