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2 bounce-back starters KC Royals should consider, 1 to avoid

Kansas City needs starting pitching.

By Mike Gillespie |
/ Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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Make no mistake, the Kansas City Royals enjoyed good starting pitching for the first time in years this season. The club's starters were excellent — the rotation ranked second in MLB in both ERA (3.55) and innings pitched (911.0), and fourth in wins (60), WHIP (1.20) and strikeouts (876).

Despite those flashy rankings, though, questions surround the rotation heading into what needs to be another productive baseball winter for Kansas City. Can Seth Lugo repeat his 3.00 ERA, 16-win season? Will Cole Ragans continue to be considered by many as the staff ace? Will Michael Wacha decline his option but still return to Kansas City via free agency? Will arbitration-eligible Brady Singer find the key to consistency?

All those questions suggest general manager J.J. Picollo needs to supplement manager Matt Quatraro's pitching staff with another starter or two. He can choose from various internal options, pursue trades, or chase any number of the plethora of starting pitchers who became free agents on Thursday.

Here are two bounce-back candidates the Royals should consider adding to their starting rotation in 2025, and one they should avoid.

The KC Royals should be seriously considering Shane Bieber

How the Cleveland Guardians reached the American League Championship Series without ace starter and two-time All-Star Shane Bieber may forever remain a mystery. Bieber is 62-32 in the seven seasons he's been in Cleveland's rotation, he won the AL Cy Young award with an 8-1, 1.63 ERA record in the short 2020 campaign, and he's one of the majors' most feared and respected starters.

But after starting this season 2-0 with 12 shutout innings, an elbow injury shelved Bieber and he missed the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery in April. That he suffered the injury wasn't particularly surprising after elbow inflammation ruined much of his 2023 campaign.

Even with TJS and the hefty price he'll likely command, Bieber is too good a starter for the Royals to summarily dismiss. He might not be ready to go until well after Opening Day, but he's a risk worth taking.

Who else should Picollo call?

KC should look up one of Bieber's former teammates, Mike Clevinger

The suggestion that the Royals could consider signing Mike Clevinger may seem odd — or even ill-advised — but there would be method to what some might consider madness.

Clevinger's eight-year big-league career has included some pretty good seasons, especially when he pitched with Bieber in Cleveland for almost three years. It was during that time Clevinger won 13 games twice in a row (2018 and 2019). He also won 12 in 2017, the year before Bieber broke in.

He's also posted sub-4.00 ERAs five times, and his career 3.51 mark isn't bad. Although Clevinger isn't overpowering, he's displayed decent control most of his career — and he knows how to pitch.

Clevinger's downside is, of course, the health issues that have nagged him since he lost all of the 2021 season to the Tommy John Surgery he underwent after the 2020 campaign. He then missed the first month of 2022 with a knee sprain, before a triceps injury put him back on the Injured List for almost a month, and right wrist and biceps inflammation cut into his 2023 campaign with the Chicago White Sox. In 2024, elbow inflammation and late-season neck surgery limited him to just four starts.

So why gamble on Clevinger? Because pitcher reclamation projects are nothing new to the Royals, who at least temporarily turned around Trevor Rosenthal and Greg Holland in the late stages of their careers. Bringing Clevinger aboard wouldn't be a venture into uncharted waters.

He also gave the White Sox two decent seasons, going 7-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 2022 and 9-9, 3.77 in 2023 before injuries wrecked his 2024.

Plus, he'd come cheap. His recent injury history alone means he could be had for less than the $3 million he earned this season. Picollo should at least kick the tires on Clevinger.

Who shouldn't the Royals explore?

The Royals should pass on Patrick Corbin

There have been plenty of good moments for Corbin, who spent half of his 12-year big league career with the Arizona Diamondbacks before moving on to the Washington Nationals after the 2018 season. He won 14 games twice and 11 once with the Diamondbacks, and went 14-7 with a 3.25 ERA for the 2019 World Series-winning Nationals. He's even made two All-Star teams.

But Corbin has suffered much the same fate as the Nationals since that 2019 World Championship — both pitcher and club have lost far more times than they've won. The left-hander is 31-63 with an ugly 5.71 ERA in the four years since he won the Series-clinching game for Washington.

To say Corbin needs a bounce-back season states the obvious, but he's not a pitcher the Royals need to take a chance on.

He lost more games (19) than any other major leaguer in 2022, and tied for that indignity in 2021 with 16. In 2023, he lost 15 times, and racked up 13 losses this year. In none of those seasons did injuries cause him to miss any appreciable time.

It appears, then, that Corbin's best years are behind him and — to be blunt — he just doesn't pitch particularly well anymore. He may find a job and make a big comeback, but his recent record suggests otherwise. His name appearing on Picollo's list of rotation candidates would be a surprise.

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