Kansas City Royals 2014 Plethora of Back-end Rotation Options
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Wade Davis (22) Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
5. Wade Davis, RHP
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the blockbuster trade last off-season that brought James Shields to Kansas City, Wade Davis is often the forgotten part in that trade. Originally, the front office thought that Davis would be a good back-end of the rotation pitcher.
In 24 starts for the Royals last year, that wasn’t the case. Similar to Luke Hochever, Wade Davis struggled in the rotation for Tampa Bay but flourished in his season in the bullpen. So after letting Davis pitch in the rotation a little longer than us fans would’ve liked to see, Ned Yost moved him back to the bullpen.
I would imagine that unless he really “wows” the organization in Spring Training, we will see Davis start the season in the bullpen. Rightfully so, I believe that him and Hochevar have got their chances to succeed, and both have found out that the bullpen is where they thrive.
It is time to let someone else test their luck in the rotation. Besides, adding Davis to the bullpen only strengthens the best bullpen in the American League.