Kansas City Royals: Bullpen stumbling as playoff race continues
The Kansas City Royals are known for their elite relief crews year after year. This year’s team differs in many aspects, but the bullpen may be the most surprising one.
What was once the Kansas City Royals’ biggest strength has now become a glaring weakness.
When Kansas City enjoyed trips to the World Series in back-to-back seasons, a key aspect was the strength of its bullpen. The dynamic duo of flamethrower Kelvin Herrera and setup man/closer Wade Davis kept hitters on their toes and off the bases.
Now, without Davis and Greg Holland in his prime, the bullpen unit has been much less reliable. The Royals ranked 10th or better in reliever ERA between 2012 and 2016. This year, they rank 15th, which isn’t awful. But it is worse than usual.
Herrera hasn’t been quite as effective as he used to be, and no one has taken the reins in the later innings. The Dominican, who was just relieved of his closing duties, owns a career-high 4.56 ERA this year. He’s also blown four saves in 26 opportunities.
Kansas City’s most illustrious trade was supposedly going to enhance the bullpen’s prowess. It did not.
Trevor Cahill was deemed a starter but watched his ERA skyrocket after just 15 1/3 innings as a Royal. Brandon Maurer, who closed for the Padres prior to moving to the Midwest, possesses a 6.62 ERA since the trade occurred.
If Ryan Buchter wasn’t a serviceable reliever for manager Ned Yost, sporting a 2.79 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, that could have been considered the worst trade of the season. It still could be.
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Considering that Yost decided to start a closing committee, Mike Minor and Scott Alexander could both see time in the ninth. Minor has shown commanding stuff so far this year, compiling more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Alexander hasn’t been as dominant, but he boasts the lowest ERA on the club at 2.03.
The team’s starting pitchers aren’t innings-eaters. Jason Hammel and Jason Vargas rank first and second in innings pitched for Kansas City with 161 2/3 and 158 1/3, respectively. But the Royals’ bullpen sees a ton of action, ranking sixth in the league in innings pitched.
With Sam Gaviglio and Ian Kennedy sticking in the rotation, the bullpen will need to be even sharper if Yost and company expect to see the October lights. Kansas City sits 2.5 games behind the Twins for the second Wild Card spot.
It wouldn’t be miraculous to see the Royals sneak into the playoffs by the end of the season – they’ve done it before. But in the past, their superb bullpen arms surely played a significant role in those runs.
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That might not be the case this year, thanks to a mediocre relief corps.