Should Royals Consider Reunion With Pirates Reliever?

The Kansas City Royals will look to bolster their bullpen this offseason as the team hopes to compete next season in an AL Central that will be up for grabs.

The Royals' pitching was a point of weakness this year as the team wrapped up the season 69-93 overall and missed out on the playoffs for the second-straight year. 

With that, general manager J.J. Picollo would be wise to consider a possible reunion with Luke Weaver who is coming off a solid 2.69 ERA season that spanned across his brief stint as a New York Met to his recent stretch with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Weaver pitched 19.1 innings for Kansas City in 2022, striking out 19 batters and posting a 5.59 ERA. While those figures don't seem like anything worth being excited about, the 33-year-old right-hander had two dominant full seasons with the New York Yankees until his departure across town in free agency during the 2025 offseason. 

Despite his impressive 1.84 ERA with the Mets, he would have to find a new home once again as he was traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline. Even though Weaver regressed to a 4.96 ERA through 18 games in a Pirates uniform, he still deserves consideration, especially for the Royals who could use reinforcements with starters Cole Ragans and Stephen Kolek continuing to recover from injuries.

Although Weaver is still under team control through 2027, a trade with Pittsburgh shouldn't cost a lot given his age and how often he's bounced around MLB. Getting him might be even easier if the Pirates take a step back after going 82-80 this year.

Kansas City's bullpen finished the season with a 5.07 ERA, the second-worst in the league after the Athletics' 5.43. So making a move for Weaver might be the right decision for the team as he recorded an impressive 34.4% chase rate and 27.3% strikeout percentage per Statcast.

He achieved those figures through turning to his formidable fastball and lethal changeup that can keep batters off-balance, logging a walk rate of 6.7%. Still, Weaver's command has struggled at times like Pittsburgh's 4-0 shutout loss to the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 15 when he surrendered four hits and three earned runs in a single inning of work.

Weaver's age is certainly something to think about for the Royals, but his familiarity with the team and flashes of potential have presented a strong case for why Picollo should look to bring him back.