Long live The General
Every year, each team makes a variety of roster transactions involving bullpen arms and just general pitching depth. Traditionally, the result of those moves by the Royals has been less than stellar; from 2021 through 2023, the Royals bullpen had the second-worst ERA and the fourth-worst K-BB%. They were bad in aggregate, and outside of Scott Barlow, there weren’t a lot of reliable late-inning arms, either.
So when the Royals acquired James McArthur last year, there wasn’t a whole lot of fanfare. In fact, there was a lot of...the opposite of fanfare? Haterfare? When we wrote about the transaction, the comment section quickly filled with some rather pointed criticism of the team and the move, with quotes like “This is a zero upside move for a team that absolutely stinks” and “Surely you can find questionable pitchers somewhere without trading a 19-year old prospect to get one” and “This move has DM 2.0 stamped all over it.”
Cut to about one year later, and McArthur has thrown 33 big league innings. In that time, he has 10 saves and an FIP of 2.19; his in the 91st percentile in Whiff % and has a nasty slider and curveball. Oh, and he also throws one of the most devastating sinkers we’ve seen in recent memory, as a treat.
This movement from McArthur #Royals pic.twitter.com/Ddy6SSl4q9
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) April 25, 2024
So were we all just stupid? Is McArthur going to fall apart and make us look smart, actually? I don’t think so on either case. As friend of Royals Review David Lesky pointed out on Twitter back when the Royals acquired McArthur, the trade smells like the kind of under the radar trade a team like the Rays would make and then turn their new, shiny pitcher into an absolute unit. The Royals haven’t been able to prove they could do that, so everyone just assumed that JJ Picollo was desperately trying to paper up the lack of bullpen depth rather than specifically acquiring a guy they thought they could do something with.
But, lo and behold, the Royals had a plan and carried it out:
McArthur said it wasn’t one thing that just “clicked” for him beginning late last season. But he did pinpoint a particular pitch that has been a real weapon since then. It was an offering that he brought back into his arsenal upon being traded to the Royals from the Phillies, and that decision has paid major dividends.
“Right when I came over from the Phillies, they wanted me to start throwing the slider again,” McArthur said. “And I’m glad they did, because it’s helped me a lot and has kind of protected my curveball. … So them helping me with that, I think, was a big part of me turning it around at the end of the year.”
What’s really interesting here is that the Phillies, who drafted McArthur, never even attempted to do what the Royals did on either end—the slider end or the bullpen end. See, McArthur was a three-year starter for Ole Miss and continued to act as a starter in the minors; from 2019 through 2023 in Philly, McArthur pitched in 63 games and started in 45 of them. When the Royals snapped him up, they stuck in him in the bullpen and told him to throw a slider, and viola. A new closer.
McArthur is built to be a fan favorite as a 27-year-old underdog who finally made it to the big leagues with nasty pitches and an incredible nickname of “The General,” named so after famous U.S. Army general Douglas MacArthur. He is also built to be a fan favorite, literally. Dude is huge; I don’t know if you’ve seen a 6’ 7”, 230 lb human recently, but that’s what McArthur is, and that stature helps with extension and durability.
With the 10-year anniversary of that famed 2014 team upon us, McArthur strikes me as similar to Wade Davis, another former starting pitcher who converted to the bullpen only to strike fear into opposing batters with his broad array of nasty pitches. Now, peak Wade Davis was arguably one of the best relievers of all time, and expecting that from McArthur is too tall of an order (even for him).
But if we’re getting some Royals Devil Magic back, well, there are worse things to start with than getting a great reliever out of nowhere who is a blast to watch.
