Kansas City Royals: Four Moves to Return to the Playoffs in 2017
By Jason Reed
4. Bolster Their Bullpen
The Kansas City Royals’ bullpen is alarmingly thin heading into the 2017 season. As of today, the Royals have eight arms listed in their bullpen, with three of which also listed as starters. While their bullpen did rank eighth last season, they are losing four arms and should further attempt to improve it. With so many options on the free agency market, Kansas City should be looking into getting another quality arm for two or the back-end of games.
Despite the starting pitching being underwhelming, the bullpen last season was actually pretty good. They ranked eighth in Wins Above Replacement, fifth in ERA, and 13th in WHIP. While those are good numbers, there is still room for improvement. The bullpen may not be their primary concern this off-season, hence its low ranking, but it should still be an area to address. There are so many good options out there for Kansas City to pick from, and adding an extra arm or two will only improve the bullpen’s production.
Notable guys for the Royals to attempt to sign are Joe Blanton, Scott Feldman, and Drew Storen. Blanton had a good 2016 campaign, posting a 2.48 ERA in 75 games pitched. Feldman and Storen may not have put up the same numbers, but could contribute to Kansas City’s bullpen. Ultimately, the best target would be Joe Blanton as he was a consistent work-horse for the Dodgers last season. Also, lets not forget about the big three of closers in this free agency. If Kansas City can somehow snag one of them, moving Wade Davis to set up man, they will improve drastically.