Kansas City Royals: Keep That Bullpen Strong

By Leigh Oleszczak | Dec 12, 2015

The Kansas City Royals haven’t made a huge splash in free agency so far, but they have continued to add pitchers, especially for their bullpen.

The Kansas City Royals bullpen has been their biggest strength over the past two years, there’s no debating that.

The KC bullpen was a large part of why the Royals went to back-to-back World Series in 2014 and 2015, and even won the whole thing in 2015. Their bullpen has been dominant, and Dayton Moore is continuing his recipe of the past two seasons for 2016 in acquiring Joakim Soria and re-signing Chris Young.

While these two names aren’t the flashiest, Dayton Moore has already proven early on in the free agency process that he’s sticking to the same recipe: Keep that bullpen strong.

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Last season, Moore acquired guys like Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen, Franklin Morales, Chris Young, and re-signed Luke Hochevar.

Some fans might have thought signing all of these guys was too much considering the Royals already had Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis, and Greg Holland (also known as H-D-H) returning to the pen in 2015. Not to mention, Brandon Finnegan and Jason Frasor would be returning as well.

Well, Moore knew what he was doing.

Holland didn’t see nearly the same success in 2015 as he did in 2014, and Madson ended up being the fill-in man. Hell, Madson had such a good year in the bullpen that the Oakland Athletics recently gave him a three-year deal worth $22 million.

There was a point in time where you could plug in nearly any reliever from the pen and the team would be just fine. They were that good.

By the end of the regular season, the Royals bullpen was considered the second best in baseball, according to ESPN with a team ERA of 2.72. The only team with a better bullpen was the Pittsburgh Pirates (team ERA of 2.67), but they’re a National League team and therefore didn’t face a designated hitter like the Royals did in nearly every game.

Point being that Moore’s new signees paid off. There was a point in time where you could plug in nearly any reliever from the pen and the team would be just fine. They were that good.

Before Soria and Young were brought back to KC, the Royals technically had just three guys in the bullpen heading into next season. Those guys were Davis, Herrera, and Hochevar, whom very well could be the new H-D-H in 2016.

Adding Soria to the bullpen gives the Royals another crucial element. They basically have another closer in the pen now. Their other “new” acquisition, Chris Young, could even be a long reliever out of the bullpen, much like he was at times during last season and during the playoffs.

The big questions regarding pitching now seem to be where Danny Duffy and Kris Medlen will wind up. Duffy was supposed to be the number two starter, but struggled to be that guy for the KC Royals. Near the end of the season, he was put into the bullpen and remained there throughout the postseason.

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Medlen didn’t join the Kansas City Royals until after the All-Star break and split time between the rotation and the bullpen. He was dubbed a long reliever during the postseason and did just fine, but did not pitch at all during the World Series.

Figuring out roles for Duffy and Medlen will be interesting, but both are solid options in the bullpen. Young will likely start off in the rotation and then be moved to the bullpen once he slows down a bit.

With Davis, Herrera, Hochevar, and Soria as sure things in the bullpen, and Duffy, Medlen, and Young as other possibilities, it looks like the Royals will continue their string of having a successful bullpen.

Next: Five Pitchers to Target in Free Agency

Why mess with a good thing, right?

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