Should KC Royals keep Danny Duffy in the bullpen in 2021?

Danny Duffy was moved to the bullpen near the end of the 2020 season. Should the Kansas City Royals keep him there moving forward?

The Kansas City Royals moved long-time starter Danny Duffy to the bullpen at the end of the shortened 2020 season and even if it was just one game, that move said a lot about what the future of the pitching staff could look like. Duffy only got one out in his lone relief appearance, but the bullpen might be the right place for him.

For one, the starting rotation could end up quite stacked with Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Jakob Junis, Mike Montgomery, and some of the young arms that are in the farm system. Duffy has never been great at going deep into games, with his longest outing in 2020 being six innings of work. That was in his second start of the season.

Because of that, Duffy might be better suited for a role where he isn’t expected to go deep. Maybe he becomes a long reliever who steps in if a starter can’t go far into a game or if the Royals implement an opener. Using Duffy as an opener is certainly another option to consider.

With this being the final year of Duffy’s contract, if there are better options to have in the rotation who will be with the team long-term, it makes sense to have them there over Duffy. His 2020 season didn’t go great as a starter, with him notching a 4.66 ERA through 11 starts. He did have a nice final start against the Cardinals where he went 5.2 innings and allowed just one run off of six hits.

With that impressive final start, Duffy showed he’s still a good option to have in the rotation. He definitely has his ups and downs as a pitcher, but he was once this team’s No. 1 starter and is still a serviceable No. 3 or No. 4 starter.

While his lone relief appearance was brief, he didn’t fare well there, giving up two runs and only recording a single out. He’d obviously be prepping more to be a reliever if that’s the route the Royals wanted to go rather than switching it up without much notice, but the sample size of Duffy as a reliever wasn’t exactly great.

What do you think Royals fans? Do you think the team should keep Duffy in the bullpen or would you rather he return to the rotation?