Kansas City Royals Potential Non-Tender Targets

Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Currently, the Kansas City Royals bullpen has one lefty reliever in the recently resigned Tim Collins. Depending on what the Royals determine to be Danny Duffy‘s future, that second lefty spot may be taken care of. However, given that Duffy is likely to end up back in the rotation, and Collins missed all of 2015 due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament, there is no guarantee that he will perform well next year.

With that being the case, a pitcher like Cesar Ramos could be quite intriguing. Last season, pitching for the Angels, Ramos posted a 2.75 ERA and a 1.338 WHiP, striking out 43 batters against 15 walks in 52.1 innings of work. That 2.6 BB/9 mark was the best of his career, aside from a brief five game stint with the Padres in 2009.

Ramos pitched equally well against both righties and lefties, allowing a .284/.324/.382 batting line to righties and a .274/.346/.3161 batting line to lefties. Both batting lines were inflated by a high batting average on balls in play against, as Ramos allowed a .342 BABiP. With the Royals defense behind him, that number would likely decrease, making his career year in 2015 potentially sustainable.

A groundball pitcher, Cesar Ramos would benefit from having arguably the best infield defense in baseball behind him. Ramos, a solid lefty who can pitch effectively to both sides of the plate, could be a nice fit in the middle of the Kansas City Royals bullpen.

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