The Royals announced they have acquired pitcher Mason Black from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Logan Martin. Black is a 25-year-old right-hander who has made ten appearances for the Giants over
the last two seasons with a 6.47 ERA in 40.1 innings. He was designated for assignment by the Giants last week.
Black was selected in the third round of the 2021 draft by the Giants out of Lehigh University. His best minor league season came in 2023 when he posted a 3.71ERA in 29 starts across Double-A and Triple-A, with 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings. But he regressed in 2024 and 2025, posting a 5.81 ERA in 119.1 innings at Triple-A this year. Black has one more option year remaining.
MLB Pipeline had him as the #18-ranked prospect in the Giants’ farm system.
Black throws two variations of an average fastball and the velocity on his heater dipped in 2024 and hasn’t bounced back. Both his two- and four-seamers sit around 93 mph and top out at 96. Neither his low-80s sweeping slider nor his mid-80s cutter have been as effective in 2025 as they were last season, leaving him without a better than average offering.
Though Black also possesses a fading upper-80s changeup, it’s too firm and flat and he didn’t elicit a single swing and miss with the 91 cambios he threw last season. He slings his pitches from a low three-quarters delivery with quality extension that gives him deception without costing him the ability to throw strikes. He’s more of a back-of-the-rotation starter unless he regains some velocity and improves his command.
Logan Martin is a 24-year-old right-hander who was a 12th-round pick in the 2023 draft out of the University of Kentucky. He posted a 3.45 ERA in 22 starts at High-A, although he was old for the level. He has struggled in the Arizona Fall League with a 9.82 ERA in 11 innings. The acquisitions of Black and outfielder Kameron Misner bring the number of players on the 40-man roster to 38.
