Can Royals build elite bullpen? Analyzing KC’s projected relief pitchers for 2025
The Kansas City Royals made a sizable investment in their bullpen this offseason.
The club signed top closer Carlos Estévez in free agency. He agreed to a two-year deal worth $22 million with a club option for 2027.
Last season, Estévez pitched to a 2.45 ERA with 26 saves in 54 games for the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies. He bolsters a Royals bullpen that has undergone significant change over the past year.
KC acquired right-handers Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey at the 2024 MLB trade deadline. Last spring, the organization added reliever John Schreiber from the Boston Red Sox.
This is the quartet that headlines the Royals’ bullpen for 2025. Each player can pitch in high-leverage situations and finish games, so manager Matt Quatraro should have plenty of late-inning options.
“We are excited about that,” Quatraro said. “I mean, you look at their track record, they are strike-throwers and they have pitched in high-leverage (roles).
“You add them to the guys we used last year in high-leverage (situations) and we have a really nice, deep group of guys there that we are really confident in.”
But can this season’s Royals bullpen become elite? Here’s a look at their current mix of relievers:
The Locks
The Royals will be filling out eight spots in their bullpen.
Erceg and Estévez will share the closer’s role. Both will have opportunities to finish games.
Last season, Erceg totaled 14 saves and 72 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings. He earned the closer’s job after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics.
And he should find more chances to pitch in high-leverage situations this year. The Royals are comfortable deploying him in key moments with games on the line.
“I’m going to go out there and try to throw up zeroes and compete my butt off when they call my name,” Erceg said. “Nothing is going to change from that — the roles that are set in place, this and that, I don’t think any of that is relevant. (The goal) I think, at the end of the day, it’s to win. I’m here to win and it’s going to be a good year.”
Estévez, meanwhile, is excited to join the Royals. Last season, he averaged 96.8 mph with his fastball and held opponents to a .192 batting average.
“I’m so pumped and excited to be here,” he said. “Just eager to keep working and get ready for the season.”
Harvey is another late-inning option for Kansas City. He arrived in 2024 from the Washington Nationals but dealt with back tightness that limited him to six games with KC.
This spring, he has allowed one run in three relief appearances. He’s another hard-thrower who can throw strikes: He whiffed an average of 10 batters per nine innings with the Nationals last year.
The Royals will utilize Schreiber in the same role he had last season, when he posted a 3.66 ERA in 59 appearances. He can pitch the middle of games as a potential bridge to the later innings.
Left-handed specialists
The Royals have a pair of southpaws in Angel Zerpa and Sam Long. Together, they played a key role in the postseason against the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.
The Royals love Zerpa’s competitiveness. He had a 2.25 ERA with five strikeouts in five postseason appearances last fall. Quatraro plays matchups, and Zerpa is a go-against lefties.
Zerpa relies on a sinker to put away hitters. The pitch registered 31 strikeouts last season.
And Long also emerged as a trusted relief option. He was a non-roster invitee to Royals camp last spring but quickly carved out a role in the bullpen.
The Royals value Long’s ability to get out both right- and left-handed hitters. He had a 3.16 ERA and finished five games in 43 appearances a year ago.
A final note here: Quatraro has used both Zerpa and Long in high-leverage spots. Each has the ability to pitch in the seventh and eighth innings.
In contention
As competition for the Royals’ final bullpen spots continues, one of those vacancies could be filled by veteran right-hander Chris Stratton.
Stratton is healthy after being sidelined by a right forearm-flexor strain last season. He had a 5.55 ERA in 57 games in 2024 but issued too many walks.
He must prove he can re-gain his form, and he knows it. He exercised a $4.5 million player option this offseason and is working to solidify a role this spring.
“The things that have kept me in the league have been my durability and my ability to just go out there and eat up innings when need be,” he said. “I love to be that person the coaches can lean on, (Quatraro) can call on at any time and get outs.”
Others in contention for the final bullpen spot include major-league veterans Ross Stripling, Thomas Hatch, Austin Cox and Taylor Clarke.
Stripling has experience as both a starter and reliever, while Hatch pitched in Japan in 2024 and is looking to return to Major League Baseball.
Cox and Clarke are familiar faces with the Royals. They were in KC’s big-league bullpen in 2023 before spending last season in the minors.
Another holdover KC reliever, Carlos Hernandez, is out of options. He will need to make the team or face being designated for assignment and outrighted on waivers.
Injuries/Royals prospects
The Royals could use a bullpen spot to keep an additional starting pitcher on the roster.
Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, Kyle Wright and Daniel Lynch IV are competing for the fifth-starter job. Bubic is considered the frontrunner, which could make Marsh, Wright and Lynch options for the bullpen.
Marsh and Lynch have relief experience. Marsh has been limited this spring by soreness in his right shoulder soreness. He recently threw a bullpen and said he felt great.
“For me, it’s about just getting back as soon as I can and being as healthy as I can,” he said.
Lynch was another left-hander in the Royals’ bullpen last season. He will be stretched out as a starter during spring training but said he is willing to relieve again, if needed.
Wright is working his way back from right-shoulder surgery and a hamstring strain. He missed last season and it figures he’ll be brought back slowly. McArthur underwent offseason surgery — he had two screws inserted into his right elbow to stabilize a fracture.
Wright and McArthur will likely pitch for KC in 2025, but their health is the main concern at the moment.
KC prospects Evan Sisk, Luinder Avila, Jonathan Bowlan and Eric Cerantola are on the Royals’ 40-man roster this spring but are unlikely to make the opening day roster.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Can Royals build elite bullpen? Analyzing KC’s projected relief pitchers for 2025."
