There were still those, though, that didn’t quite believe. There were holes in the offense – poor plate discipline out of key figures; still very little power; terrible base running – and relying on young pitching usually brings more headaches than high fives. No matter the amount of negatives however, the amount of positives coming from both a good September, 2011 record, and a great spring for a number of players, left just enough positive vibes to make fans and columnists anoint this season as the completion of some kind of “mission”.

Except, this is the Royals, and #Royaling is what they do.

It’s fallen apart. A house of cards built on intangibles and indefinable buzzwords like “the right way” and “process” has once again turned back into a pumpkin; back into a bumbling laughing stock worthy of the late night shows. Only this time, because this narrative is too old, too worn, too used, not even the good late night shows will have a run at it.

Before the season began the Royals signed Yuniesky Betancourt. A player that has been so bad throughout his major league career that writers have called him – not the lowly “bloggers” everyone loves to loathe – the worst everyday player in baseball. A player that, just a year ago, the Royals themselves knew just how bad, how below average, how much of a drain he was on their lineup because of his shear tonnage of outs created, the sieve he was on defense with his incredible lack of range in the infield, because he played for them. He played for them, and played poorly enough to amass a mere 0.9 fWAR, while playing in 151 games.

But that didn’t matter. Why? Because when the Royals signed Betancourt before the spring of 2012, they did so with the “intention” that he would be a backup. A backup, for multiple infield positions of which he had either rarely or never played, making $2 million on a team strapped for cash.* He was signed as a guy that could bring some right-handed pop to the lineup out of a backup role, and he was a good fit in the clubhouse. No, seriously, that’s the exact quote.

*We know the Royals are strapped for cash because they never stop telling everyone how strapped for cash they are.

Flash-forward to yesterday and Betancourt is no longer on the team. Designated For Assignment, relieving the fans from having to watch his uninterested, mediocrely-talented demeanor on the field in a Royals uniform again. But for all the good that comes of Betancourt being released comes the same red flags that have been surrounding the organization for the past six seasons, and beyond.

There’s speak of a process, a method of evaluation and determination that would set the Royals apart from all the other small-market-excuses of a mess of the past three decades. But as the Mission comes to an end, there’s seemingly little difference of this season from the last, or the many before it. And if you’re of the opinion that there’s an end in sight, a true end in sight, then the writing on the walls just isn’t the right shade of glowing neon for you to see.

As the goalposts continue to get moved further and further down the line of success, more and more head scratching moves of wasted money and market missteps continue.

Jose Mijares, a talented (at least somewhat), and presumably useful left-handed bullpen piece having a good season on an incredibly affordable contract, was placed on waivers and claimed by the San Francisco Giants. At the time of posting this, the details of the transaction are not fully known, but it appears the Royals gave Mijares away for nothing. There could always (and usually are) things that no one in the general public knows, but for the purpose of the Royals, for the purpose of how things have been both this season and the five before it, what reason would anyone have for giving the Royals the benefit of the doubt this time?

There’s talk of trying to “change the culture”. It’s a nice, cute thing to say. In any normal circumstance, in any other organization, a phrase like that could (and possibly should) be taken seriously. But this is year six of this regime’s run with changing the culture of losing, why is it still around at all?

Eli’s coming. Something is brewing – or at least, that’s how it seems at the moment – with the Royals. And if change is truly coming, some sort of alteration of the culture, then fans may yet have hope that the light actually is somewhere at this end of the tunnel.

But for six years-to-two-decades Royals fans have been promised change and continually get handed pennies in exchange. Let’s hope this time, for once, it’s actually meaningful.

The Good

Since returning from the DL, Lorenzo Cain has hit .325/.372/.506 with 4 stolen bases and played a pretty good defensive outfield at multiple positions. Not too shabby.

Given Cain’s swing and approach at the plate, his overall numbers probably won’t reflect this kind of production over the long term, but at the very least he seems to be the kind of player that can be penned into in the lineup somewhere in the foreseeable future.

Cain’s inclusion into the lineup has shown how much he was missed over the two months he was away. Jeff Francoeur has struggled (even by Jeff Francoeur standards) and being able to give him a day off to save the lineup for his almost certain four outs with Cain’s bat and base running would have been a welcomed addition.

Moving forward the question is, and always will be, if he can stay healthy. Health being one of the hardest player attributes to evaluate and predict we may never know how many games he’ll be able to play in a year without breaking down. But for the time being, Cain looks like an athletic, above-average-to-better defender that’s going to provide the lineup with some much-needed production for next season.

The Bad

This horse was beaten long, long ago. But if there weren’t enough question marks already about Dayton Moore and his ability to put together a 25-man, major league roster, there should be now. And no one should be able to argue otherwise.

Things don’t look to get much better before they get worse, and moves like the Betancourt signing and the trade for Humberto Quintero are at the forefront as why.

Perhaps a trade of one of the team’s better players is what’s needed. Perhaps either Billy Butler or Alex Gordon needs to be shopped in the offseason. Perhaps.

Let’s just not forget that the two best players on the team, those two, are also two that are leftovers from the previous regime that supposedly caused all this losing culture to begin with.

The Upcoming

The Royals hit the road with three games against the White Sox and four against the Orioles. A seven game stretch that, even if the team was playing well, would be tough. At the very least, fans get to see Camden Yards.

He’s also a left-handed pitcher, a commodity during the playoff push.

And the Royals let him go for nothing. The Giants put in a waiver claim and the Royals didn’t seek out a trade. It’s not clear if they passed him through waivers and simply let the Giants have him or if they made some mistake in the waiver process that allowed him to be claimed for nothing, but what is clear is that he’s now a San Francisco Giant.

There were questions about his attitude before the year, and part of why he was let go by the Twins, but even with that, to get nothing for him is confusing. It would also be odd considering that they could have traded him to anybody a week ago without any waiver complications involved. Surely there would have been a taker, right? If someone was interested enough to claim him, they’d likely be interested enough to give cash or a player to be named later, at least, I’d imagine.

Francisley Bueno will take his spot in the bullpen. He’s thrown 4.2 innings for Kansas City this year with a 3.86 ERA.

The Royals bullpen is supposed to be the strength of its pitching staff, and if you review almost any pitching statistic, you’ll find this is true.  And who should be the cream of the crop in this group?  The closer of course.  The closer should dominate opposing batters, intimidating them into submission during the final inning of a game.  While Broxton’s ERA has been solid, by almost every other measurement you’ll discover that he is teetering on the brink and in my opinion his luck may run out soon.

Of the Royals five most often used relief pitchers (including Aaron Crow, Jose Mijares, Kelvin Herrera, and Tim Collins) Broxton possesses the highest WHIP, the lowest strikeout ratio, and the most H/9 (hits per 9 innings.)  This type of performance will eventually impact his luck-induced ERA performance and will result in runs scored, lots of them.  When Broxton waddles to the mound, the only hearts he strikes fear into are in the pounding chests of nervous Royals fans.

I'm just not that into you Jonathan Broxton (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

Maybe this is a little bit shallow of me to say, but I prefer my team’s players at least have the appearance of athleticism and not wear pants that two teammates can fit inside.  Broxton looks more like a reject from a Tommy Boy casting call than a professional baseball player.  And I know it’s results that count, not appearance, but really…  Broxton’s body is his tool, it’s what allows him to be a major league pitcher.  If he was a serious athlete who truly wanted to excel, he’d drop 100 pounds and get himself in shape.

Broxton’s performance is like a locomotive whose wheels are coming off, but it just hasn’t jumped the track yet.  He’s a train wreck waiting to happen.

I attended one of the recent interleague games in Houston and had a chance to watch Broxton and the other pitchers take a few swings in the batting cage during pregame warmups.  There was a lot of discussion about a few balls that Broxton sent into the left field seats and off the outfield wall.  It was a pretty impressive display – for a pitcher.  But I still don’t think any of the fans who were oohing and aahing at his hitting prowess were excited at the prospect of watching Broxton and his lifetime .000 batting average step into the box.  Can you imagine Jonathan hitting a ground ball to the shortstop and trying to “leg it out.”  The mental image is jarring.

The good news is that there is a solution to this problem.  I recommend the Royals point to Broxton’s stellar ERA, his track record as an All-Star closer, package him with Jeff Francoeur (sorry Frenchy, I love ya, but you have to go – #FreeWil) and try to get something, anything, in return before they both implode and lose all their value.

Dayton Moore should take some time out during the All-Star festivities, visit with his General Manager buddies that attend the game, and find a new home for both of these guys.  Frenchy has value as a clubhouse leader & goodwill ambassador, and Broxton could potentially be a decent 7^th inning guy – that has to be worth something.

The time is now Dayton.  Find a deal, pull the trigger, cut our losses before Broxton and Frenchy lose their value, and let’s move forward to the future with Aaron Crow or Kelvin Herrera as our closer.

August 8, 2011; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar (44) throws a pitch during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

As we are nearing opening day, a few things should start to clear up.  There are some pieces to the puzzle the Royals still have to figure out, and it’s becoming a guessing game for their fans to try and solve as well.  One thing that is certain, is Yuniesky Betancourt and Chris Getz will be platooning at second base to start the season.  This makes me question so many things, and the move has left a sour taste in the mouths of Royals diehards on Twitter .  In no way can this work in the Royals favor.  But I digress, there’s still many other questions to answer.  Who will be the lefty out of the bullpen?  Who will be the number four and five to fill out the rotation?  Also, who will be the next Royals closer in the wake of Joakim Soria needing his second Tommy John surgery?

Jose Mijares, Tim Collins, Everett Teaford, and Tommy Hottovy are all in the race to be the left-handed reliever out of the pen.  Three out of four of these pitchers have spotless ERAs and Collins has still managed a miniscule 1.08 ERA, at this time.  I think Mijares is the lead dog of the pack simply because he was brought in to be the go-to lefty.  Although, the other three guys are making their cases to start the year on the opening day roster as well.  It does seem possible to me, that two of these four could make the team but I would definitely say no more than that.

I don’t know about all of you, but I have been less than impressed by what I’ve seen out of the starters so far this spring.  I want to clarify that I’m aware the Royals aren’t anywhere near the Phillies or Angels in terms of starting pitching, but I was hoping they would be above adequate this spring.  Luke Hochevar and Luis Mendoza are the only two guys who have pitched extremely well and there is no guarantee Mendoza even makes the team as a starter.  Bruce Chen, Jonathan Sanchez, Danny Duffy, and Felipe Paulino have all underperformed this spring and aren’t doing much to claim their spots in the rotation.  I know not much weight should be put into spring training stats, but the fact that Chen has given up 27 hits in 12 innings is very disheartening.  It would be nice if a few of these guys pitched like they wanted the job.  That being said, Paulino is pitching his way out and Mendoza is pitching his way into the rotation.  I believe Duffy will start out in the rotation and am looking for Sanchez and Chen to bounce back after very rough springs.  I do not think there is room for Paulino, Duffy, or Mendoza out of the bullpen, if that question comes up, as there is an abundance of arms already out there now.

The starting pitching has been a question mark all off season, but one thing we thought was certain, was the closer’s role.  With the news that Joakim Soria will undergo his second Tommy John surgery, the question remains, who will fill his shoes?  I say  Greg Holland, Aaron Crow, and Jonathan Broxton, in that order.  Holland has the dominating stuff and one of the best sliders in the game, so I feel extremely confident with him in the 9th.  Crow was bestowed upon as the closer for a short amount of time last season and Broxton is coming off some elbow issues but is still capable of returning to his former All-Star self.  I would be okay with any of these relievers, but I’m personally pulling for Holland.

We only have a few more weeks, if not sooner, before we get some of the answers to these questions.  Whatever happens though, I’m sure it will make for some great conversations and playful banter.  Either way, Opening Day is less than two weeks away!

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July 18, 2011; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Louis Coleman (46) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-US PRESSWIRE

These numbers just aren’t working out. It’s frustrating me because no matter how bad some of the Royals pitching staff has been, I’d like to keep the ones who have potential. So many of them have potential, but there’s simply not enough room.

Ned Yost has indicated that he would like to carry 12 pitchers and four bench players into the season. That means five starters and seven relievers, but however I slice it, a potentially valuable commodity gets left out. Actually, more than one.

It’s an unusual feeling for Royals fans, to feel like we have too much talent for one roster. I made a comment the other day on Twitter that the 2012 Omaha Storm Chaser bullpen might be the second best bullpen in baseball.

Here’s how it breaks down. I believe the five holdovers from last year’s starting rotation will win their jobs back; that leaves seven spots in the bullpen. Joakim Soria, Jonathan Broxton, Greg Holland, and Jose Mijares are all pretty much locked in. That leaves three spots for Aaron Crow (who Yost has indicated will stay in the bullpen if he can’t make the rotation), Tim Collins, Louis Coleman, Luis Mendoza, Blake Wood, and Kelvin Herrera. The other candidates seemingly have no shot—and frankly, I don’t think Wood’s got much of a shot either.

Aaron Crow. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Six guys for three spots. Each guy brings something a little different to the table. Collins is another lefty. Crow has great strike out potential. Coleman’s a steady hand with good deception. Mendoza’s got versatility to throw multiple innings and start occasionally. Wood has the power sinker to get ground balls. And Herrera might have the best stuff of all of them. So, who gets left out? And more importantly, what are the ramifications of those decisions.

We have to assume at this point that Crow will get one of the remaining spots. Yost has essentially said as much. He was an All Star in the bullpen, and I think Yost doesn’t want to play with Crow’s confidence by sending him to AAA to work as a starter, which is what I think they should do. At some point, they will have to decide what they have in Crow and give him a chance to be that, whatever it is. If it’s a starter, they have to let him try to be a starter instead of shuffling him back and forth between roles.

Anyway, despite what one lowly, rotund blogger thinks, it looks like the Royals will give one of those bullpen spots to Crow. That leaves two. I’m pretty certain that Yost will want to carry more than one lefty in the pen. That means that as long as Collins isn’t terrible in the spring, he’ll get one of the spots. He was supposedly very effective in the intrasquad matchup, and people are raving about a mechanical adjustment that helped improved his command. We’ll see.

That leaves one spot for three talented pitchers … and Blake Wood (ZING!). Some are not as high on Mendoza as I am (if thinking a guy can excel in a swingman role is being “high” on him). I find value in a pitcher who can move between bullpen and rotation, throw some strikes, keep a team in a game, and who the team doesn’t have to worry about in terms of his future. The Royals can use Mendoza however they want. And he’s out of options, which along with his versatility, is the greatest point in his favor.

I have no answer for who gets the last spot. I don’t think it will be Wood or Herrera because Wood isn’t good enough and both have options. It comes down to Coleman or Mendoza. Coleman pitched very well last year. I like him a lot as a pitcher. But he can’t make a start if the Royals need him to, and he probably can’t take over in the third inning and bridge the gap to the rest of the bullpen with three or four innings of work.

On the flip side, Mendoza isn’t as proven as Coleman. Michael Engel wrote a very scathing critique of Mendoza that pointed out his greatest flaw: he doesn’t strike out many hitters. Consequently, his numbers from AAA look a little deceiving. Coleman, on the other hand does strike guys out.

Ultimately, performance in the spring might decide this conundrum. But if all considered pitch well enough, the Royals have to ask themselves some tough questions. If they choose Coleman over Mendoza, who fills the long relief role? It could be no one, but that might wear out the bullpen quickly. It could be Crow. But he’s never filled that role before, and they have his future to consider.  Also, he spent the last half-season being pretty ineffective. If they choose Coleman over Mendoza, they probably lose Mendoza to the waiver wire.

If they choose Mendoza, they will gamble that he can sustain his performance from last season without the benefit of high strike out numbers.* It’s a pretty risky gamble, made slightly better by the Royals’ good defense. Note please that one of the criticisms of Mendoza is that he won’t be able to maintain his low BABIP from 2011, .268. By contrast, Coleman’s was .246. In fact, looking a little closer at the numbers makes Coleman’s season from last year look a little less shiny (4.30 FIP, 3.92 BB/9, 1.36 HR/9), just like Mendoza.

*I wrote this before Sunday’s game in which Mendoza and Herrera pitched very well.

I’m so torn about this decision, and I don’t even have to make it. Luckily, spring performance should help decide. But I’m going to do the ballsy thing and give my thoughts right now, before seeing a pitch.* If I had the choice to make, and I had to make it right now, I’m taking Mendoza. I think having someone to fill the swingman role is important with such a suspect rotation, and keeping Mendoza gives the Royals the chance to have both pitchers if they need them moving forward—say if Broxton gets traded midseason or someone gets hurt. If Mendoza is ineffective, they can cut him and bring Coleman up without too much damage being done.

*Again, I wrote this before Sunday’s game. Though it wasn’t on television so technically I still haven’t seen a pitch.

Feel free to openly criticize that decision and let me know who you would keep and why.

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Expect to keep seeing this quite a bit in 2012. (Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE)

I’m going to repeat this once more (and for the last time), so if you’ve seen it before, skip ahead. Dayton Moore and the Royals have been busy this offseason. Not busy looking for starting pitchers and not busy looking for new bats. They’ve been busy finding the pieces to finish up their killer bullpen.

But really, there weren’t a lot of moves to be made. The Royals bullpen only increased by two members, as Jonathan Broxton became the new, well, whatever role he’ll supposedly fill and Jose Mijares became lefty insurance. There were lots of rumors about using the Broxton addition to move Joakim Soria and leave Greg Holland to closing, but that’s all in the past. Right now, we’re barely different than last year’s team. Let’s just get a quick recap of where that team stood in several categories with regards to the rest of the American League:

Runs Allowed Per Game: 11th (4.70)
Wins in Relief: 3rd (26)
Losses in Relief: 13th (26)
Save Percentage: 10th (63%)
Holds: 10th (58)
Inherited Runners Scored Percentage: 2nd (25%)
Games Pitched on Zero Days Rest: 2nd lowest (56)
Average Outs Recorded Per Outing: 1st (3.6)

If you have any questions about those rankings, throw them out in the comments. All I know is this paints a very muddled picture. Was the bullpen good or bad? Was it good or bad as a result of how rough the rotation was? Can we really blame the bullpen when they had quite a bit of work over the course of the year due to that rotation?

What it seems like to me is that they did a respectable job with the hand they were dealt. Manager Ned Yost didn’t overwork them too badly, though the consecutive days stat could be biased a bit toward one or two pitchers. I had no idea that they had done so well with inherited runners, but the fact that they allowed that many runs, compiled that many losses, and blew that many saves makes me reconsider my acclaim at their success. Of course, as the season wore on, young arms got tired and handing the ball to the bullpen became less of a sure thing. Nonetheless, how can we think about this bullpen going into 2012? Are they truly killers?

Well, I pulled out three projection systems for 10 pitchers that could (or should) be a part of the 2012 bullpen. I’ll use ZiPS, Bill James, and RotoChamp to get three different perspectives. And I’ll try to show them in a way that’s not totally confusing, using their 2010 and 2011 lines alongside their projections to get an idea of what we’re seeing.

Let’s start with Joakim Soria because, well, who else do you start with when you think of the Royals’ bullpen?

For the most part, projections show a return to form from 2011 and more of what we expect from Soria. And I see no reason to debate that, as he’s shown us he can stick in there when healthy, so let’s leave it at that. Soria is a stable player for the bullpen.

We’ll turn to Jonathan Broxton next.

Broxton’s going to be an interesting one to watch. After being nails for the Dodgers earlier in his career, he started to falter the last couple, including a bruised elbow that sidelined him for most of 2011. Between that and the move to the AL, it’s hard to get a read on how he’ll perform. All signs point to him being healthy for 2012 and ready to pitch for the Royals, however. And all three projection systems show that in their analysis. While they’re more bullish on Broxton than I am (or than I expected them to be), I think we can expect solid numbers from Broxton. And if he can pitch consistently throughout the season, he could be a crucial piece for close games in late innings.

Greg Holland

Everyone expects a little regression from Holland’s ridiculously good 2011 campaign. His BABIP last season was .250, which is plenty low and offsets the 3.77 he found himself with in 2010. Settling at a midpoint seems like a good idea, and that’s what the projections have done. I expect Holland to sit closer to the RotoChamp projection than the others, however, even though their hits/9 is a little low. Holland will still be a crucial piece of the bullpen, but maybe not quite as amazing as he was last season. The battle between him, Coleman, and Broxton for the “set-up role” will be one that could go all season if Holland doesn’t end up replacing Soria as the closer should Soria get injured.*

*Knock on wood. Every piece of wood. Even Blake Wood.

Blake Wood

I’ll be honest and say that I have no idea what to expect from Wood. He was extremely frustrating to see pitch at times, but surprisingly productive at other times. And I guess that just means we should expect something similar to last year. Every projection system shows some amount of regression, but I’d expect Wood to sit around an ERA of 4 and to be neither great nor horrible, providing solid relief when you least expect it and poor relief when you need outs. This all leans on him making the roster, of course, but he should be a likely candidate unless he spoils it for himself in Spring Training.

Louis Coleman

Coleman was the guy that always made me think he was right there the whole time, just about ready to break free, but restrained by his high home run numbers. He still had an amazing season considering he missed almost a month of the season and will be another important piece of the bullpen in 2012. I would guess he can take a step forward on those home runs numbers while staying roughly constant in every other way. Bill James’ projection seems to be the closest for me, showing exactly that. With a step forward in the home run area for Coleman, the back four righties of the bullpen (Soria, Broxton, Holland, and Coleman) should be a formidable set for opposing lineups to face as they try to rally.

Aaron Crow

For whatever reason, Bill James didn’t project Crow, but it doesn’t matter. I see Crow regressing a bit, sticking closer to his late-season numbers than his initial ones, but he can still be an important part of the bullpen. We have some projection issues here, as RotoChamp saw Crow as a starter, but the numbers are similar nonetheless. I think the ZiPS projection is a bit bearish, but Crow should maintain his strikeouts and potentially his walks as well, staying roughly in the same point as he was last year. Like Coleman, if Crow can cut his home run numbers a bit, he’ll make it into that upper tier of relievers. But he’ll still be a useful arm nonetheless. And if they’re thinking about trying him as a starter, he could become a middle relief sort of guy, as Wood might be the only other useful righty candidate for such a role. The prognosis? Still useful, but maybe less of the early Crow and more of the later Crow.

Kelvin Herrera

I’m really intrigued by Herrera’s chances, as he could either go the Jeremy Jeffress route or he could stick as another strong righty reliever. If you’re counting at home, that would mean the Royals would have seven average-to-great righty relievers in their bullpen, so I don’t know if we can count on them all making it. But Herrera has shown strong numbers in the minors, flashing a 1.60 ERA in 2011 across high-A, AA, and AAA before getting a September call-up to Kansas City. He usually strikes out about 9/9 IP, and while that should continue this year, I expect closer to 8/9 IP. Like Wood, Herrera’s case probably hinges on his Spring Training performance, but his existence alone exhibits why the Royals have a good reason to rely on their deep, deep bullpen.

And on to the lefties.

Tim Collins

Collins will be another interesting one, as he seemed to be fatigued by the time the season ended. He pitched in 68 games, eight more than Soria and 11 more than Crow, which likely contributed to that fatigue. And Yost seemed to be content with (over)using Collins no matter his fatigue. Collins has some legitimate competition in Jose Mijares this Spring Training, with Everett Teaford also available, so the team won’t have to rely on him quite as much. Still, more competition is better than less, and Collins will at least have to perform or be sent down, hopefully keeping the bullpen stocked with a capable left-handed reliever.

Jose Mijares

Mijares is a guy that I vouched for when the Royals signed him. It’s definitely good to try many options, and, as I said above, it gives a bit of insurance and competition for Collins. Mijares was a great reliever for the Twins a few years back, but his weight and other issues led to less use and less productivity as the seasons wore on until Minnesota dropped him this offseason. It’s a good flyer to take on a guy that could be a huge boost should he return to form. And if he doesn’t do that, no harm, no foul. Collins and Teaford, plus Mike Montgomery or other lefty prospects, could fill that role.

Everett Teaford

Teaford’s another guy that got some partial projections as a starter, but he should only exist as a spot starter and mostly as a lefty reliever option. He’ll also have to fight his way onto the roster, and he’s probably less likely to make the roster than Collins and maybe Mijares. I think Teaford was a bit lucky last season, but he’s got the ability to put in about what Bill James’ projection shows when the Royals need him. It’s just another sign of the depth this season.

What we can really take from this, as I’ve said before, is that the Royals have considerably more depth and insurance in their bullpen for 2012 than they did going into 2011. There are more players than can ably contribute when needed, and that should make it easier to keep the bullpen performing all year. As some prospects move forward, there should only be more options, allowing for extreme selectivity going forward. Even though Broxton’s contract is only a year, this all points to the team being prepared for a great bullpen for many, many years as they approach the start of their window of competition.

So, while the bullpen was a great point of strength in 2011, it should be as strong or stronger in 2012 given the number of options and the players’ performance in previous seasons. The projection systems are understandably mixed, but even with some of their lower projections, the bullpen will be solid for this season. Considering how they ranked in some categories last season, there’s room for improvement. And there should be improvement.

Of course, the wild card in all of this is new pitching coach Dave Eiland. He may change the pitching strategies of some younger players, and we’ll have to keep track of any changes in performance or style from 2011 to 2012. Just another thing to keep in mind.

Has Moore built a “killer bullpen” for 2012? Well, yes and no. He didn’t add much to build that bullpen. But it also didn’t need a ton of additions to become a killer. Broxton and Mijares should only add depth in two areas where competition and number of options will only help the team to stay in it throughout 2012. And with a rotation that’s questionable and difficult to project, having a strong bullpen with many potential members can only be a good thing.

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Jose Mijares is moving south. (AP Photo)

The Royals announced today that they’ve signed lefty reliever Jose Mijares, formerly a pain in the Royals’ collective side during his time with the Twins. There haven’t been any details of the deal just yet, but I would guess it’s simply a one-year deal that helps to shore up the “killer bullpen” that’s apparently been a goal this offseason.

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