Royals Could Soon Cut Ties With $4.5 Million Former World Series Champion
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The Kansas City Royals could be close to getting a key member of their bullpen back, and that also means someone else has to be on the way out.
Bullpen management is crucial to a successful Major League Baseball season. It's a bad idea to get rid of a reliever after just a few bad outings, but at the same time, sticking with someone who's struggling too wrong because the organization is afraid to get rid of them can be a pitfall.
The Royals are hoping to welcome back Hunter Harvey, who had a perfect ERA through 5 1/3 innings this season, from the injured list in the coming days. With only eight spots available in the bullpen, the Royals are going to have to get rid of someone in his steed.
Jonathan Bowlan and Steven Cruz have both joined the bullpen from Triple-A since Harvey went down with a teres major strain. But instead of simply demoting someone back to Omaha, one Royals writer believes a veteran could be on the hot seat.
On Sunday, FanSided's Oliver Vandervoort named veteran reliever Chris Stratton as one of the players on "thin ice," and who could be designated for assignment to make room for Harvey's return to the active roster.
"(Stratton has) gotten a few too many chances at this point and he’s certainly not performed all that well. In eight outings that have spanned 11 total innings, he’s allowed 11 runs, and walked six, while striking out seven," Vandervoort wrote.
"In a bullpen that has been pretty darn good over the last couple of weeks, Stratton is not really fitting in. Both his run-prevention and long ball issues especially could be reasons Kansas City is ready to be rid of."
Stratton, 34, picked up his player option for $4.5 million this season after putting up a 5.55 ERA in 58 1/3 innings last year. He was a 2023 World Series champion with the Texas Rangers, but he's done almost nothing good so far in a Royals uniform.
Stratton is a 10-year big league veteran, and the Royals look to be giving him every chance to justify his contract. But they can't be stuck holding onto him much longer if he's going to keep failing to produce.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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