The Royals have one big problem.
The Kansas City Royals' bullpen has been way worse than expected. The bullpen for the last few years has been one of the best aspects of this Royals team, and going into the season this year, it seemed to be the same. All the Royals did this past offseason was make additions to improve an already solid bullpen.
However, the Royals bullpen has been a huge problem this year. For the most part, it's been inconsistent. One week the bullpen will be untouchable, and then for two weeks the bullpen will struggle to keep the game in reach.
So hypothetically, if the Royals' bullpen had been perfect this year, where would the team currently be?
While there is no way to know exactly how different the season would look, examining the bullpen's losses provides some perspective.
Let's start that off by breaking down how many losses the bullpen has recorded.
The reliever with the most losses this year would be Alex Lange with four losses, followed by Lucas Erceg, Nick Mears, and John Schreiber with three losses apiece. Then, there's Steven Cruz with two losses, and lastly Carlos Estevez, Daniel Lynch IV, Eli Morgan, Luinder Avila, and Matt Strahm all with one loss apiece. Add all of those up and you have 20 combined losses just from the bullpen.
It's quite unrealistic to expect a bullpen to be perfect, and the offense has also played a part in this underwhelming season. But Kansas City could be right in the American League Central race had the bullpen been better to this point, and would certainly be in the American League Wild Card picture.
The numbers highlight the impact the bullpen has had on this team being in last place. While offensive inconsistencies have also contributed to the team's record, the bullpen has repeatedly struggled in situations where games were still within reach.
The bullpen does not need to be perfect for Kansas City to remain in the playoff race. However, it does need to become more consistent. Even a moderate improvement in late-game situations could have significantly changed the Royals' position in both the division standings and the Wild Card race.
With the second half of the season approaching, improvement from the bullpen remains one of the clearest paths for the Royals to gain ground in the postseason race as they look to remain players in a division that is as forgiving this year as it always seems to be.
