Who will Matt Quatraro call on out of the bullpen?
Anne Rogers writes about the tiers of relievers in the bullpen.
Erceg returns as the Royals’ closer a year after posting a 2.88 ERA following the Deadline deal. The club will be counting on a return to form by Harvey, whom it acquired in July from the Nationals. The righty managed just 5 2/3 innings with Kansas City. Harvey went on the injured list in August with back tightness and didn’t return the rest of the year.
Picollo said Harvey will begin throwing next week and is expected to be ready in the spring. Ideally, Harvey will pitch high-leverage innings in front of Erceg.
“I know he had a tough go with us,” Picollo said. “Part of getting guys with years of control was protecting yourself from that. He’s a quiet guy, reserved, and I think he was disappointed he didn’t help the team. But our end-of-the-year meeting with him was, ‘We acquired you for a reason. We’re going to need you.’”
David Lesky also writes about the bullpen.
The Royals are on the hunt for “pitching depth” as the offseason continues, but I see this bullpen as a very real opportunity to go get a legit strikeout arm. I don’t see them going after Tanner Scott or anything and the Blake Treinen deal for $22 million over two years puts that market in an interesting spot. I guess the Dodgers likely signed him with the idea that he’s the closer, but $11 million makes the reliever market a little iffy. I’d still be very heavy on David Robertson and his 33.4 percent strikeout rate. Ryne Stanek was a favorite of mine last year. He is again. Tommy Kahnle should be a target, though he might be Yankees or bust. Paul Sewald is a bounceback candidate, but he had a good strikeout rate.
And Kansas City might be a good spot for Kenley Jansen.
Matt Chabot at Farm to Fountains looks at the organizational depth in the infield.
The Astros trade outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Cubs for three players including third baseman Isaac Paredes.
The Yankees acquire reliever Devin Williams from the Brewers for pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr.
Buster Olney and Jeff Passan at ESPN Insider detail how the Mets landed Juan Soto. [$]
Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs reviews the package the White Sox received for Garrett Crochet.
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Will the Astros still pursue Alex Bregman?
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Disney+ will reboot Malcolm in the Middle.
Your song of the day is Foreigner with Blue Morning, Blue Day.
