J.J. Picollo Explains What Must Change With Royals Bullpen in 2027

A bullpen ERA of 5.07 was one of the biggest reasons the Kansas City Royals fell to 69-93 in 2026 and finished last in the American League Central, 16 games behind Cleveland.

That was the second highest in the majors, and general manager J.J. Picollo did not hide from it when he spoke at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Picollo pointed to the slow start and the injuries that followed as reasons for the disappointing season, but he said the team does not plan to start over.

What he wants to change most is how the Royals handle the bullpen during the season, with the club more willing to make a move when a reliever is not getting the job done.

"We have to be more transactional in that perspective, and not be afraid to move on with the next guy," Picollo said in comments published on Wednesday by MLB.com's Perla Paredes.

Picollo is admitting that how the bullpen was run was as much of a problem as the talent, and he is right.

A bullpen does not finish 29th out of 30 teams on bad luck alone, and it is fair to wonder if the Royals waited too long on some arms.

The ninth inning is wide open after the Royals declined the $13 million club option on right-handed reliever Carlos Estévez, who had shoulder surgery on Sept. 8 and is now a free agent.

Right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg had 13 saves, but he also had a 5.59 ERA in 52 games, so the Royals should not hand him the job.

The relievers will have more to cover early in the year, because the rotation ranked 25th with a 4.58 ERA and four of its pitchers had elbow surgery during the season.

Left-hander Cole Ragans and right-hander Ryan Bergert are expected back around the middle of 2027, while right-handers Luinder Avila and Stephen Kolek could return later in the year.

Picollo said the club has not decided how to split its money between the rotation and the bullpen, but he noted that a bullpen costs less to put together than a rotation.

That points toward signing several cheaper relievers instead of one big contract, and it fits a team that already had a rebuilt bullpen listed as one of its two needs this winter.

Paredes reported that the Royals will target relievers based on handedness and matchup splits, and that Picollo expects the market to pick up in the coming weeks.

The 40-man roster sits at 37 players, so there is room, and free-agent relief help should be the first place that space goes.

Paredes also reported that the Royals kept right-handers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo at the Trade Deadline in part because they believe in a core led by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., and Wacha backed that up with a 3.32 ERA over 200 2/3 innings.

If the Royals add two or three relievers and Picollo follows through on moving on from the ones who struggle, I think this team will look much more like the 82-win group from 2025 than the one that lost 93 games.