The Position the Royals Must Address for This Offseason to Be a Success

This has to happen

Dec 9, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Kansas City Royals general manager J.J. Picollo is interviewed at the Hilton Anatole during the 2024 MLB Winter Meetings. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Kansas City Royals have work to do this offseason. With a handful of voids needing to be filled after a disappointing and frustrating season, this will be a big offseason for the Royals as they look to return to a competitive state.

While injuries played a big role in the outcome of the 2026 campaign, the underperformance of the team overshadows it all, and something needs to change. In particular, there is one position, or better yet, group, that needs to be worked on this offseason.

This comes as no surprise. The group needing to be addressed is the bullpen. This relief group for the Royals was borderline nonexistent. The Royals bullpen held the second-highest ERA in all of baseball in 2026 with a 5.07, according to FanGraphs.

Whether it was high-leverage situations, holding a lead or closing out a game, nothing was going right for the pen in Kansas City. To get more into the weeds, the late-inning group crumbled to the ground.

With Carlos Estévez only logging one outing this season due to injury, Matt Strahm getting designated for assignment and Lucas Erceg having a forgettable season, closing or holding a game started to become a big problem for the Royals.

There was, dare I say, just one arm Kansas City could trust to go out on the mound. That was Daniel Lynch, who posted a 1.96 ERA across 46 innings before getting moved to the rotation.

The Royals cannot afford to fall short in improving the bullpen this offseason if they want to return to their 2024 form. From top to bottom, there will be room to bolster the group. It will be interesting to see what approach Kansas City takes with this group.