The Kansas City Royals are exploring the possibility of signing Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich, who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his niece as a teenager.
A baseball official with direct knowledge of the Royals’ thinking confirmed that the club is thinking about signing Heimlich, who for a second consecutive year went undrafted in the wake of his guilty plea that emerged in 2017, just days before he was expected to be selected as a draft-eligible junior.
The official spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject.
The Kansas City Star first reported the Royals' interest in Heimlich over the weekend.
Heimlich, 22, was expected to be a high-round draft pick before his guilty plea was reported by The Oregonian in the days leading up to last year's MLB draft. The left-handed pitcher pleaded guilty when he was 15 years old to molesting his niece, who was 6 at the time.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated earlier this year, Heimlich denied molesting his niece and said he signed the guilty plea to "kind of move past this whole event." The parents of his niece refuted that claim.
Heimlich is 16-2 with a 2.80 ERA for Oregon State this season. The Beavers are scheduled to face Arkansas in the College World Series, which begins Tuesday after Game 1 was postponed Monday.