Royals Create Fierce Battle at Key Position With Big Signing

The Kansas City Royals entered this offseason with a few major holes that needed to be addressed. They acquired Jonathan India to serve as the leadoff hitter to fill the biggest need, but filling out the bullpen remained a major focus for the general manager J.J. Picollo and his staff.

Signing Carlos Estévez provides the pitching staff with an excellent arm, and it certainly puts a few players on the chopping block as the organization finds upgrades. However, perhaps the most interesting element of this acquisition is what it means for the closer role.

Lucas Erceg took over the job late in the year after joining the organization midseason. He dominated as a closer, though now Estévez sets up a fascinating battle for the closer position in spring training.

Royals Now Have Fierce Bullpen Battle Between Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estévez

The most important point is how great of a problem this is to have. Kansas City won the 2014 AL Pennant and 2015 World Series on the back of one of the greatest bullpens in baseball history, so it makes sense to try to recreate that magic.

Greg Holland, Wade Davis, and Kelvin Herrera formed what was known as "HDH" - a group that was one of the most dominant reliever trios the sport has ever seen. Picollo understandably wants to leverage a great bullpen with a top-10 defense, which led to the organization's historic World Series in the first place.

How manager Matt Quatraro intends to deploy his talented group of arms remains to be seen. Unlike last year though, he has reliable options to depend on. Estévez, Erceg, Hunter Harvey, Sam Long, and John Schreiber can rival any five-man relief rotation in MLB, and that'll put Kansas City in a position to succeed.

2024 was a magical season for the Royals. This one might be even better.

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