Kansas City Royals Reportedly Scouting Pitching

One had to figure that, at some point in time, the Kansas City Royals would begin to look for ways to shore up their pitching staff. Chris Young has already been inserted into the starting rotation, and with the way he has performed thus far, may not be removed even when Jason Vargas returns. Joe Blanton has been called up, and while he is not starting, is serving in that long relief role for the team. Maybe it is starting to be time for the Royals to look around for other options.

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According to Nick Cafardo, the Royals are beginning to do just that. Even if the Royals are not quite to the point of looking to make a trade or have any drastic changes in their rotation, Cafardo reported that scouts are out and about, scouring the landscape for low cost starters.

It certainly makes sense. For as good as the Kansas City Royals bullpen has been this season, the struggles of the rotation are bound to cause problems later in the year. Yes, the bullpen has an astonishing level of depth, and is the envy of the rest of baseball, but they have also thrown 129 innings thus far, the fourth most in baseball. This level of dominance may not be sustainable with that workload.

The Royals and Dayton Moore are also hoping that Vargas can come back to close to the form he displayed last year. In 2014, Vargas put together his best season in the majors, posting an 11-10 record with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.273 WHiP. This season, Vargas has not been close to that same pitcher, posting a misleading 3-1 record with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.481 WHiP before heading to the disabled list.

While the Royals may have some options in regards to solving their rotation issues, it appears as though Moore is, at the very least, starting to have a bit of concern over their performance. Maybe this is nothing more than Moore doing his due diligence and trying to find a diamond in the rough, but the fact that he is, at least, entertaining the idea of finding pitching help leads one to think that these issues are not just going to fix themselves.

The Kansas City Royals had been built upon their excellent pitching. While it may be too early to begin looking for pitching help, the Royals are, at the very least, kicking the tires.

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