Sam Long
30-Year-Old
Free Agent Foreign
2025 Stats
W-L
2-3
ERA
5.36
WHIP
1.74
K
33
SV
0
2026 Projections
Signed a one-year contract with the Royals in February of 2025. Elected free agency in November of 2025.
Heads to Japan
Long signed with NPB's Chiba Lotte on Sunday.
Analysis
Long is a 30-year-old right-handed reliever who has played with three teams over five big-league seasons. He was solid in his first year in Kansas City in 2024, posting a 3.16 ERA and 1.20 WHIP along with a 44:17 K:BB over 42.2 innings, but Long struggled to a 5.36 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 33:22 across 40.1 frames last season. He wasn't likely to get more than a minor-league deal in MLB free agency and has instead opted to try to put things back together overseas.
Long is a 30-year-old right-handed reliever who has played with three teams over five big-league seasons. He was solid in his first year in Kansas City in 2024, posting a 3.16 ERA and 1.20 WHIP along with a 44:17 K:BB over 42.2 innings, but Long struggled to a 5.36 ERA, 1.74 WHIP and 33:22 across 40.1 frames last season. He wasn't likely to get more than a minor-league deal in MLB free agency and has instead opted to try to put things back together overseas.
Pitching Stats
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2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
20
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
18
How many pitches does Sam Long generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Sam Long generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-5%
BAA vs RHP
2025
-19%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .273 | 44 | 22 | 54 | 7 |
| Since 2023vs Right | .259 | 65 | 38 | 77 | 10 |
| 2025vs Left | .328 | 14 | 7 | 22 | 3 |
| 2025vs Right | .265 | 19 | 15 | 26 | 4 |
| 2024vs Left | .221 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 2 |
| 2024vs Right | .216 | 26 | 12 | 19 | 3 |
| 2023vs Left | .270 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 2 |
| 2023vs Right | .288 | 20 | 11 | 32 | 3 |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-26%
ERA on Road
2025
-5%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 5.40 | 1.54 | 65.0 | 7.6 | 4.3 |
| Since 2023Away | 4.00 | 1.44 | 63.0 | 7.7 | 4.1 |
| 2025Home | 5.48 | 1.83 | 23.0 | 7.0 | 4.7 |
| 2025Away | 5.19 | 1.62 | 17.1 | 7.8 | 5.2 |
| 2024Home | 4.67 | 1.10 | 17.1 | 8.8 | 2.6 |
| 2024Away | 2.13 | 1.26 | 25.1 | 9.6 | 4.3 |
| 2023Home | 5.84 | 1.58 | 24.2 | 7.3 | 5.1 |
| 2023Away | 5.31 | 1.52 | 20.1 | 5.3 | 3.1 |
Stat Review
How does Sam Long compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
1.50K/9
7.4BB/9
4.9HR/9
1.6Fastball
93.1 mphERA
5.36WHIP
1.74BABIP
.337GB/FB
1.13Left On Base
64.8%Exit Velocity
81.5 mphBarrels/BBE
4.8%Spin Rate
2284 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.3%Swinging Strike
8.2%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
Long made six starts for the Giants last season, but they were all on short rest and he never went more than three innings in any of those outings. He fared better in those starts than he did in his relief appearances, although the lefty's strikeout rate dipped in both roles from the previous season even as he showed a significant uptick in velocity. Long is probably no better than eighth on the Giants' starting pitcher depth chart heading into 2023, so he'll probably be used in a similar capacity as 2022.
More Fantasy News
Opts for free agency
Long elected to become a free agent Friday.
Analysis
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Returns from IL
The Royals activated Long (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Friday.
Analysis
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Nearing return
Long (elbow) is expected to be activated this week against Texas or San Diego, MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Moving assignment to Triple-A
The Royals are expected to transfer Long's (elbow) rehab assignment from the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.
Analysis
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Set to begin rehab assignment
Long (elbow) is expected to begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Tuesday.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could start against Dodgers
Long could get a chance to start against the Dodgers this weekend, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Analysis
Long was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento Tuesday and could take the turn in the rotation vacated when Alex Cobb joined the injured list with a neck issue. Long has a 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings for the Giants this year. He has made three starts for the big-league club but those were more in the role of an opener as he totaled only four innings. His longest outing of the season was his last appearance, going three shutout innings and tossing 41 pitches in relief Tuesday. If he gets a starting nod, it's quite probable that he'll have some sort of pitch limit.
Long was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento Tuesday and could take the turn in the rotation vacated when Alex Cobb joined the injured list with a neck issue. Long has a 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings for the Giants this year. He has made three starts for the big-league club but those were more in the role of an opener as he totaled only four innings. His longest outing of the season was his last appearance, going three shutout innings and tossing 41 pitches in relief Tuesday. If he gets a starting nod, it's quite probable that he'll have some sort of pitch limit.