Kansas City Royals: Time to move Jorge Lopez to the bullpen

After another rough start for Jorge Lopez, it’s time for the Kansas City Royals to move him to the bullpen. He’s made one relief appearance this season and did well, which is more than we can say about his starts in 2019.

The Kansas City Royals acquired Jorge Lopez via a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers last summer and Lopez’s rookie year gave fans hope for what the future could have in store for him.

Unfortunately, 2019 has not been kind to Lopez and he’s coming off a particularly tough outing against the New York Yankees in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Lopez only made it through one inning against the Bronx Bombers, failing to record an out in inning number two and yielding five runs in the process.

Lopez is currently sitting on a 6.79 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and is now 0-6 in his ten starts. The other day he made a relief appearance against the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched two scoreless innings en route to a Royals loss on the other side of the state.

With Lopez pitching well in relief earlier this week and not showing us ANYTHING as a starter, the time has come to move him to the bullpen. This has been a staple of the Kansas City Royals over the years, sending starters with potential to the bullpen.

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Sometimes it’s worked out well, as names like Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar, and most recently Ian Kennedy, have been relocated to the bullpen and done well there as a result. Whether or not this would happen with Lopez remains to be seen, but it needs to happen. He’s not doing his job as a starter and because of his poor performance on Saturday, the bullpen had to pitch eight innings.

As for who could take Lopez’s spot in the rotation, there are plenty of options. Glenn Sparkman has handled starting duties last season and once this year and he is currently on the active roster at the moment.

Another guy on the active roster who could be an option is the aforementioned Ian Kennedy, who has flourished in the bullpen this year. While I don’t see the Royals messing with Kennedy’s groove, they might not have a ton of other options.

If the team decides to turn to the farm system for help, the likely option to call-up would be Heath Fillmyer, who has seen limited time in the majors this year. He showed promise last year, but has a 9.00 ERA in four appearances (three starts) for the Royals this year.

The Royals could also decide to bring up a new face to the team, perhaps Josh Staumont? The 25-year old has a 3.04 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched, but it’s definitely worth noting that he’s mostly been used as a reliever to this point. He has five starts this year in 16 total appearances.

While Jorge Lopez has potential and will hopefully be a pivotal part of the rebuild, it’s clear he’s not fit to be a starter right now. Sometimes a move to the bullpen helps pitchers figure things out and maybe that’d be the case for Lopez if this decision were to be made.

What do you think Royals fans? Is it time to send Jorge Lopez to the bullpen?