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KC Royals: How Will Ned Yost Change in 2015?

By John Viril

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During the heat of the Kansas City Royals playoff run, manager Ned Yost realized he needed to accept the advice of his coaches more often when it came to in-game decision-making.

The most tangible effect of this change during the post-season was that Ned Yost junked defined roles for his relievers in must-win games. This adjustment came at the behest of pitching coach Dave Eiland, according to Yahoo.com writer Jeff Passan:

"On Sept. 15, the day after Yost’s infamous explanation of why he allowed reliever Aaron Crow to blow a lead instead of turning to bullpen ace Kelvin Herrera – “Aaron’s inning is the sixth inning,” Yost said, despite the fact it was demonstrably untrue – pitching coach Dave Eiland pulled Yost aside and told his boss he needed to change. Herrera wasn’t the seventh-inning guy and Wade Davis the eighth-inning guy and Greg Holland the ninth-inning guy. They were all arms, all ready and eager to be deployed at any time.“If we get to the postseason, we’re probably going to have to use these guys for four outs, maybe five outs,” Eiland said. “And if we’re going to get through September and into October, we’re going to have to do it now. So I finally convinced him.”"

Yost’s rigid bullpen use seemed so nonsensical, that I even parodied his thinking in my own “Yed Nost” video last September:

One early manifestation of this transformation was Ned Yost’s much-criticized move of using Yordano Ventura in the 6th inning of Kansas City’s wild-card win over Oakland.

Trying to protect a slim 3-2 lead, Ned Yost pulled a wobbling James Shields in favor of fellow starter Ventura in the 6th inning only to watch the inexperienced rookie (as a reliever) serve up a two-run home run to Brandon Moss.

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You could also see the difference in the World Series when Ned Yost pulled his starter early in game four and game seven attempting to hold early leads.

That Ned Yost’s changes seemed to have negative outcomes in these circumstances does not mean it’s a bad development. Yost, along with the rest of baseball, seemed absorb the sabermetric concept of the “three times through the order” penalty during the 2014 playoffs.

This post-season lesson seems to have affected how general manager Dayton Moore is building his 2015 team. Unable to afford A-list pitchers like ex-Royal James Shields and Max Scherzer, Kansas City is loading up its bullpen.

Not only did Dayton Moore refuse to break up his Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland trio, he added Luke Hochevar, Kris Medlen, former Phillies closer Ryan Madson, and rule 5 fire-baller Jandel Gustave as well as re-signing Jason Frasor and tendering Tim Collins.

In short, Moore seems committed to supplying his manager with multiple relief options in case some prove ineffective, with the goal of fielding an even more-dominant pen.

The aim seems to be to improve on the strength that carried the KC Royals to the World Series. Perhaps Moore thinks the bullpen’s inability to hold leads in game four and game seven cost him a Championship.

Given that Moore looks to be increasing his bullpen depth, you have to wonder if the Royals will attempt to use their relievers during the regular season more like they did in the playoffs. Such a strategy makes sense if you lack a true ace, which might be the case for the Royals in 2015.

Next: KC Royals Franchise leaders in Triples

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