Royals' Tyler Tolbert: Gets first call to majors

The Royals selected Tolbert's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Monday.

The 27-year-old Tolbert stole 48 bases in 53 attempts between stops at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Omaha in 2024, but he struggled at the dish with both affiliates, slashing a combined .240/.323/.323 over 554 plate appearances. He stuck around in big-league spring training longer than anticipated after providing an .887 OPS over 19 Cactus League games, and he'll now get his first call-up to the majors while the Royals look to add some speed to the bench in place of Dairon Blanco (Achilles), who was placed on the 10-day injured list. Tolbert likely won't see regular at-bats but could prove to be a useful weapon as a pinch runner and late-inning defensive replacement.