It appears like the Royals roster, at least leading up to the Winter Meetings in December, is starting to form a bit. After releasing Taylor Hearn, Tucker Davidson, Bubba Thompson, and Nate Eaton from the roster since the conclusion of the World Series, the Royals came to an agreement with reliever Taylor Clarke, one of… Read More Royals Avoid Arbitration With Taylor Clarke and What It Means for the Bullpen
MLB Trade Rumors published their annual “projected arbitration salaries” this week, a much-anticipated projection each year for hardcore baseball fans. The Royals currently have eight players who will be arbitration-eligible this offseason. According to MLB Trade Rumors, that is down from the 11 they had last October. Below is the list of Royals players who… Read More Predicting the Royals’ Arbitration-Eligible Cases This Winter
The Royals pitching staff has been an adventure this season, and that’s putting it lightly. While we know about the Royals’ starting pitching struggles this season beyond Cole Ragans, the bullpen has arguably been just as bad if not worse in 2023. This is disappointing considering the flashes of promise Dylan Coleman and Taylor Clarke… Read More Three Royals Pitchers (And Their Pitches) To Be Optimistic About
Going into 2023, there was hope that the Royals’ pitching staff would see some improvement under new manager Matt Quatraro and the pitching team of Brian Sweeney, Zach Bove, and Mitch Stetter. While many of the actual pitchers remained the same from the 2022 squad, there was hope that the new analytical approach of the… Read More Taylor Clarke and the Collective Struggles of the Royals Bullpen in 2023
With Aroldis Chapman officially a Texas Ranger now (the baseball team; not the Texas law enforcement agency), the Royals bullpen has gotten a little thinner in the late innings. While Chapman didn’t close out many games in his short tenure in Kansas City (only two saves in 33 appearances), he was utilized by manager Matt… Read More Three Questions Regarding the Royals Bullpen as the First Half of the Season Comes to a Close
In a bit of stunning news on Saturday, the Detroit Tigers traded closer Gregory Soto, along with utility infielder Kody Clemens, to Philadelphia for outfielders Matt Vierling and Nick Maton, as well as catcher Donny Sands. The move was mostly an unexpected one from both ends. The Phillies were already pretty full in the bullpen,… Read More How Does the Gregory Soto Deal Affect Scott Barlow and the Royals Bullpen?
When the Royals acquired Amir Garrett from the Reds this offseason, it seemed more about what the Royals gave up (Mike Minor) rather than what the Royals received in return. It’s not that Garrett wasn’t going to be a key part of the Royals bullpen in 2022. Rather, it was just that the trade of… Read More Amir Garrett is Settling Into His Role with the Royals (And That’s a Good Thing)
Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon was a “dark” 24 hours in the Royals’ 54-year history, to put it bluntly. That says something considering what this fanbase has gone through in the post-MLB Strike era (i.e. since 1995). Whatever you feel about the vaccination debate (even though there shouldn’t be a debate, but that’s just me),… Read More It’s Only One Game, But the “July 14th” Royals Bring Hope to This Fanbase
To put it bluntly, the Royals bullpen has been disappointing in 2022. After ranking 13th in reliever fWAR and 19th in ERA a season ago, according to Fangraphs, the Kansas City bullpen has seen its rankings this season drop to 26th and 27th in those categories, respectively. While the Royals starting pitching staff and hitting… Read More Three Relievers Who Could Be Key to Turning Around the Royals Bullpen
The Royals are tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the worst record in baseball at 16-31, as of Monday, May 31st. You read that correctly. And it’s not just the record that’s bad. The Royals’ run differential is actually the worst in baseball, as The Athletic’s Alec Lewis alluded on Twitter on Tuesday morning: After… Read More After Two Rough Months, What Should Be the Hopes for the Royals From Here On Out?