The Royals’ bullpen is the most improved part of the team over the last year, and they continued to add talent this offseason. The bullpen is maybe the most important position to keep an eye on for the Royals during spring training as there are a lot of spots up for grabs and there are potential trades looming over several key names. Several guys will be playing for their jobs on the major league roster and spring training will be the first look we get at some new faces looking to make a name for themselves in Kansas City.

What does the bullpen currently look like?

The Royals have a lot of options in the bullpen that they can choose from with at least 12 guys I think could pitch on a major league team. Those players include but are not limited to…

Lucas Erceg, Carlos Estevez, Hunter Harvey, John Schreiber, Angel Zerpa, Sam Long, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Stratton, Kyle Wright, Daniel Lynch, James McArthur, Evan Sisk, and Alec Marsh.

The team will carry 8 guys in the bullpen, which means several quality players will be left off the major league roster. There also have been rumors that the team is looking to make a trade to add a middle of the order OF bat, which means it’s possible we see some of these guys included in a trade. So, let’s look at who could benefit from having a good spring.

Which relievers have the most to gain from spring training in 2025?

Chris Stratton

I put Stratton at the top of this list as he is counting on having a bounce-back season after struggling to find consistency and dealing with injury in 2024. The Royals signed Stratton to a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option worth $4.5 million in 2025. The team added Stratton with hopes that he could be a solid veteran for their young bullpen and provide stability. This never really panned out and Stratton will need to have a good spring to show he can bounce back and be healthy to make the major league roster in 2025.

When the Royals went out and added Chris Stratton, he was coming off a solid season where he posted a sub-4 ERA between his time with the Cardinals and Rangers. What makes Stratton a special pitcher are the insane spin rates he has with 3000+ RPM on his curveball and high spin on his fastball and slider as well. The Royals staff felt they could work with Stratton’s impressive spin, but he couldn’t stay healthy and struggled with command all season in 2024.

Stratton is under contract and the team will not be able to option him if he doesn’t make the major league roster. The Royals will not want to eat $4.5 million in payroll by releasing Stratton but with the amount of talent the Royals have in the bullpen, it’s possible if he continues to struggle. If Stratton shows that he still has the skills we saw in previous seasons he could get back in the good graces of the Royals’ staff and have a significant role this season.

Carlos Hernández

The Royals signed Carlos Hernández as a 19-year-old out of Venezuela for $15,000 in the summer of 2016. The organization pushed Carlos through the system because of his hard fastball and big frame. The team promoted him to the major league roster in 2020 after recovering from a rib injury and kept him up for most of 2021. Hernández was one of my favorite prospects in the Royals’ system, but I felt that he was rushed through the organization as he never was able to develop his off-speed stuff.

Hernández has maintained his strong fastball that averaged 99.1 MPH with good spin in 2023. The fastball has never been a concern for Carlos, but his struggles to utilize his other offerings effectively are well-documented. He struggles to get good spin on his curve and slider and has had trouble locating his pitches which has resulted in a lot of walks.

Carlos is out of minor league options, which means this season he has to crack the major league roster, or they have to waive him. Similar to Stratton, the Royals will not want to move on from Hernandez because they would have to trade or cut him. Trades for Hernandez were discussed in the past and there were rumors the team was offered a top 100 prospect for him. His value has dropped significantly since then and the Royals won’t get anywhere near as much for him if they have to move on from him now. Carlos will need to have a good spring to earn his spot on the major league roster so that the team has no choice but to keep him going into 2025.

Daniel Lynch IV

The last guy I wanted to mention was Daniel Lynch who really felt like he hit his groove at the end of 2024 and hopes to bring that success with him into spring training this season. Lynch was once the 34th overall pick in the draft and he has had an up and down road in his professional career so far. Lynch has been both a starter and a reliever for the Royals in his career but really saw success out of the bullpen at the end of the season in 2024 which is why I list him with the relievers as we start spring training.

Lynch served as a spot starter for the Royals in 2024 where he struggled mightily, but when the team brought him back up in after some injuries hindered the bullpen, he looked great. Lynch has never been a guy with outstanding stuff and the name of his game has always been command and manipulating the strike zone. This is what has made the team look at Lynch as a starter in the past but when he made the move to the pen, his fastball ticked up 2 MPH and he saw even more success with his off-speed stuff as well.

Lynch served as the “long reliever” for the Royals at the end 2024 and was incredibly successful and did not allow a single earned run through his last 20 IP in 2024. With his success at the end of the season, and the team having a blatant need on the left side of their bullpen, Lynch has a good shot at making the roster. He does have an option remaining and it would not shock me to see the team use it and keep him as depth in case of injury. But Lynch has a chance this spring to strong arm his way onto the roster if he is successful this spring.

Hunter Harvey

Hunter Harvey was the first major pick up for the Royals last season as they looked to bolster their struggling bullpen at the trade deadline. Harvey had a successful start to his career with the Nationals as a setup man for Kyle Finnegan and the Royals hoped he could come to Kansas City and take on the same role. These hopes were short lived, as Harvey struggled with back injuries and only pitched in 5 innings for the Royals in 2024. Harvey feels like a “lock” to make the Royals roster if he is healthy, but the team has discussed trading him this offseason and if he impresses, he will not only force the team to keep him but will earn himself a significant role in 2025.

Harvey is primarily a two-pitch guy with a hard fastball that sits around 98 MPH and a strong split finger he uses to throw off a hitter’s timing. He also mixes in a slider and a curveball but neither pitch is a great secondary offering, and he uses them sparingly. The scouting report for Harvey is simple, but that doesn’t mean he’s an easy guy to get hits off of, and if he is healthy and can return to form this spring, he will play a major role for the Royals in 2025.

My prediction for the Royals’ bullpen in 2025

As the roster stands right now, my prediction for who makes the Royals bullpen for opening day:car

Lucas Erceg (lock)

Carlos Estévez (lock)

Angel Zerpa (lock)

John Schreiber (lock)

Hunter Harvey (lock)

Sam Long

Chris Stratton

Alec Marsh

Guys who just missed the cut

Carlos Hernández

Daniel Lynch IV

Evan Sisk

The Royals have 5 guys that I would say are 100% locks to make the roster in the bullpen if they are healthy, which leaves 3 spots up for grabs. Sam Long grabs the first spot due to his success last season and the team needing to carry another left-hander on the roster. Chris Stratton wins the next spot with a good spring due to his great stuff and larger contract with hopes he can produce the way the Royals hoped he would when they signed him last offseason. The final spot goes to Alec Marsh, who wins the long relief role out of the bullpen, beating out Daniel Lynch (again) to make the opening-day roster.

Carlos Hernández just misses the cut in his competition with Stratton despite him not having any more options remaining. The team has several flamethrowers in the bullpen already and unless Hernández significantly outperforms Stratton, it is hard for me to find a spot for him. Long beats Sisk for the left-hander job and Lynch just misses the cut as the long reliever to Alec Marsh. Sisk and Lynch provide good depth, and it is likely we will see them on the major league team at some point in 2025.

With this bullpen, the Royals are set up for success with a variety of different skill sets coming out of the pen in 2025. They will use Estévez as the closer, Harvey as the set-up guy, and Erceg to be the man to put out the flames whenever he is needed. They have two strong left-handers with proven success who can come in as needed to have leverage against other lefties, and they can bring in Stratton and Marsh as situational relievers. With this group, the Royals have done a complete 180 from where they were at the start of last season, and potentially have one of the best bullpens in the AL. If they can find similar success to what they saw at the end of 2024, this unit is in for a great year and could be a huge strength for the team throughout the 2025 season.