Royals' bullpen is doing them no favors as they fall to last place in AL Central

Royals' bullpen is doing them no favors as they fall to last place in AL Central originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Kansas City Royals were thought to be a team that would challenge the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. While they didn't make any big splashes over the winter break, they did bring in names like Matt Strahm, Nick Mears, Alex Lange, and Eli Morgan to help stabilize the bullpen.

However, the bullpen has not been all too great. The club has already blown four saves this season.

Most recently, Lucas Erceg came into the ninth inning last Thursday against the Tigers, up 9-7. He let up a hit and a walk, and then Riley Greene blasted a game-tying two-run double followed by a Colt Keith walk-off single.

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Royals' bullpen is doing them no favors as they fall to last place in AL Central

It's not just the pitching that has failed to deliver. The offense has struggled to get anything going, batting a combined .218, which is the fourth-worst team batting average across MLB.

This is not the recipe for success, as evidenced by their woeful weeks last week. They got swept by the Tigers and then the New York Yankees, and Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter ranks them 29th in his latest power rankings.

"With two blown saves and four losses last week, the Royals bullpen has been front and center during their seven-game losing streak. The relief corps ranks 30th in the majors in ERA (6.18) and WHIP (1.67), and after calling up Mason Black from Triple-A on Sunday, more roster shake-ups could be coming next week."

Reuter sets the stage for manager Matt Quatraro to shake things up. They already called up Mason Black, who will work in a relief role.

Hopefully, the bullpen can figure things out and do it fast. At no point did the fans think they would be behind the Chicago White Sox at any point this season.

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