3 Royals Playing Their Final Home Series in Kansas City

The Royals start their final home series of the 2024 regular season on Friday, hosting the San Francisco Giants in a suddenly massive three games for Kansas City's playoff hopes.

After getting swept by the Tigers, it's possible this could be the final few home games of what's been one of the most enjoyable seasons in franchise history. That'd be a heartbreaker, but it's on the table after a dismal week thus far.

While it's still likely the Royals will host playoff games, let's look at several players who could be playing in their final home contests at Kauffman Stadium.

3 Royals Playing Their Final Home Series

1. James McArthur - RP

James McArthur has enjoyed stellar stretches throughout the season, even becoming one of the better closers in MLB early in the year. However, the bullpen clearly needs a full makeover and McArthur doesn't have a place on next year's roster.

He's still under arbitration and could stick around, but McArthur shouldn't be relied on in high-leverage situations. When he has a bad outing, he typically prevents the Royals from even having a chance to win. McArthur has a 4.92 ERA entering the series with seven blown saves to 18 conversions

No matter what happens for the rest of this year, it's clear the Royals need to overhaul the bullpen. Lucas Erceg shows flashes of excellence and should stick around, while Daniel Lynch looks like a possible long reliever moving forward, but there's little to feel good about otherwise.

McArthur's underlying numbers aren't as bad as his surface ones. He has a 3.62 xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching), though he's let minor situations unravel with such regularity that the front office shouldn't trust him moving forward.

We'll see if McArthur can find a role in next year's bullpen, but it feels like he'll be a casualty of bullpen changes this winter.