Kansas City Royals missing the point with Kyle Zimmer

The Kansas City Royals bullpen is a disaster, but sending Kyle Zimmer to the minors is not the answer.

There is no question that the Kansas City Royals need to do something about their bullpen. The relief corps has essentially been the equivalent of dousing a fire in kerosine, as they have posted an 8.10 ERA in 23.1 innings heading into Monday’s action. The opposition has a .309 batting average against Royals relievers, who have also issued 21 walks while striking out only 19 batters.

In an attempt to improve the pitching staff, the Royals have made a move. Kyle Zimmer was sent down to Omaha, while Glenn Sparkman was brought up to Kansas City. In theory, Sparkman will either be starting on Wednesday, or following Scott Barlow in a piggyback approach to the game.

Zimmer had struggled overall when looking at his stat line. In his two innings spanning three outings, he had issued two hits and five walks, striking out only two batters. All five walks have come in his last two appearances, as he faced nine batters overall.

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That lack of command is problematic, and something that Zimmer needs to work on. A trip to AAA, where he can refocus on his mechanics and get himself right, hopefully returning the majors in short order to reestablish himself.

Nonetheless, this decision misses the entire point of this season. Of the current options in the bullpen, Zimmer is likely to be one of two or three pitchers that will still be here when the Royals are hoping to contend. While he could stand a bit more time in the minors to iron out his command, Sparkman is not a long term answer.

Instead, it would have made more sense to bring up Richard Lovelady to fortify the bullpen. He is more likely to be a part of the next Royals run to contention, along with Zimmer and potentially Kevin McCarthy. This season is about finding pieces that can be part of the next core, instead of a quixotic quest to try to contend this season.

Kyle Zimmer may need more time in the minors, but the Kansas City Royals are missing the point. Let Zimmer figure out his issues, and show that he can be a part of the future.