Former All-Star Reliever Justin Topa Lands With Royals After Blue Jays Release.

The Kansas City Royals added some veteran bullpen depth Tuesday, signing right-handed reliever Justin Topa to a minor league deal. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Omaha, according to MLB.com’s transaction tracker.

It’s been a busy year for Topa. He started 2026 with the Minnesota Twins, where things went sideways fast. In 23 appearances for Minnesota, he posted an 8.05 ERA over 19 innings, with just 12 strikeouts and a walk rate that sat at 12%. The ground ball rate was still good — 54.4% — but not enough to keep him in the big leagues.

The Twins designated him for assignment in May and cut him loose. He signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays on May 30, joined Triple-A Buffalo on June 3, and made eight appearances there before Toronto released him Sunday. The numbers in Buffalo were better: a 3.38 ERA over eight innings, four runs allowed, four strikeouts. Not eye-popping but respectable. Still, the Blue Jays moved on.

This isn’t his first rodeo

Topa turns 36 in March but he’s had real major league success. In 2023 with the Seattle Mariners, he was borderline dominant — 2.61 ERA across 69 innings, strikeout rate just under 22%, walk rate at 6.5%, ground balls at almost 57%. That year earned him attention and a trade to Minnesota before the 2024 season.

Then the knee went. A torn patellar tendon in his left knee limited him to just three appearances in 2024. He bounced back in 2025 with a 3.90 ERA in 60 innings, with numbers that looked more like his Seattle form — 18.3% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and a 47.7% ground-ball rate. Not bad for a guy coming off a serious injury.

Why the Royals need him

Kansas City is banged up. Starter Cole Ragans is done for the season after UCL surgery. Kris Bubic has missed extended time. The bullpen is thin too — Carlos Estevez, James McArthur, Nick Mears and Connor Seabold have all been out. Topa doesn’t fix everything but he gives them another arm who can throw strikes and keep the ball on the ground.

He’s not on the 40-man roster, so there’s no rush. The Royals can let him get some work in Omaha and see if the 2023 version shows up. If it does, Kansas City gets a useful piece without giving up anything. If not, they move on. That’s the kind of low-risk move teams make when the trade deadline is looming and you’re short on arms.

The Royals haven’t commented on the signing yet, but the transaction tracker doesn’t lie.