3 reasons why the KC Royals won't lose 100 games

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(Photo by Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports) /

The KC Royals lost 100+ games two of the last three years. It won’t happen again in 2021.

Fond memories of two straight World Series trips and a championship hadn’t faded much when the KC Royals imploded with two straight 100-plus loss seasons in 2018 and 2019. Stunning in severity, it was a painful fall from grace.

A short 2020 season made losing 100 for a third year in a row impossible, but the Royals were still on pace to lose 92 when the campaign ended with a late September victory over Cleveland. The win capped a near-.500 12-13 final month, a span of improved play that triggered new hope for the club. Productive offseason moves ignited new optimism.

Squelched now is serious talk of 100 losses; conversation centers more on how many games Kansas City will win.

Solid reasons underlie this change, not the least of which is management’s resolve to make the team better. Fans yearned for the franchise to be more aggressive when principal owner John Sherman assumed control, but last season wasn’t the time to make wholesale changes. A new course had to wait until winter.

The wait was worth it—General Manager Dayton Moore, with more room to maneuver and a steely resolve to improve the Royals, filled the last spot in the starting rotation with Mike Minor, solved the first base puzzle with Carlos Santana, and hopefully found a new center fielder in Michael A. Taylor. And, true to form, he mined the field of discarded pitchers to land former Royals Wade Davis and Ervin Santana. Then he signed infielder Hanser Alberto, and iced the cake when he ended his search for a new lefty bat and left fielder by trading for Andrew Benintendi.

Related Story. Hanser Alberto will win a job. light

Those moves alone almost assure the club of avoiding 100 losses. Moore did what it took to complete the rebuild he sometimes seemed reluctant to acknowledge. His, and the club’s, resolve to win again is the first reason the KC Royals won’t lose 100 times in 2021.

What are some others?

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The KC Royals feature a strong bullpen. It may be better than many think.

The trio was magnificent, three pitchers who for two magical seasons formed perhaps the most feared bullpen back-end combination ever. When the Royals led late, Kelvin Herrera in the seventh inning, Wade Davis in the eighth, and Greg Holland in the ninth meant one thing. A win was in the bag.

The magic ended, though, when the Royals non-tendered Holland after a UCL injury ruined his chance to pitch in the 2015 World Series. Davis took over as closer, then departed for free agency after 2016; the natural progression made Herrera the next closer, but he left in a 2018 trade to Washington.

The Royals turned well-paid but disappointing starter Ian Kennedy into a reliever and he saved 30 games in 2019, but Kansas City, looking for something else, signed struggling Trevor Rosenthal and brought back fellow struggler Greg Holland last season. Rosenthal became the lockdown closer he’d been in St. Louis until KC shipped him to the Padres in a trade deadline deal, and Holland made sure the bullpen didn’t lack for an equally effective closer when he inherited the job.

But Rosenthal, now in Oakland, and Holland, who returned to KC, weren’t the only relief success stories. Jesse Hahn went 1-0 with an 0.52 ERA in 18 games. Kyle Zimmer finally broke through at 1-0, 1.57 in 16 games. Josh Staumont’s 100 mph four-seamer and sinker propelled him to 2-1, 2.45. Scott Barlow and Jake Newberry had their moments.

All that good pitching made Kansas City’s one of the better bullpens, something the Royals hadn’t had for too long. KC’s 95 percent save rate led the majors; the pen saved all but one of its 20 save opportunities, the best record in the majors, and its 19 saves ranked third only because they had only 20 chances. Only 31 percent of inherited runners scored, which tied for the sixth best big league mark.

All but two regular relievers return—Rosenthal and Kennedy are gone—so the 2021 bullpen should be just as good. Holland proved he can still close and Kennedy, who was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA, is easily replaceable. Staumont, Hahn, Barlow and Newberry should be as steady as they were last season, as should Zimmer if he stays healthy. And if Davis and Santana make the club, this season’s pen may be better than last year’s.

The relievers are a Royal key. Look for them to play a major role in avoiding the 100-loss mark.

(Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

A set lineup will help Mike Matheny and the KC Royals avoid 100 losses.

Unlike the past few seasons, when finding an established, solid Opening Day lineup was an exercise in frustration and futility, second year Kansas City manager Mike Matheny can pre-print 2021’s lineup card and mail it in. That’s how set this year’s nine positions already are.

Catcher? No thought required. Salvador Perez.

First base? Carlos Santana. Finally, a proven first sacker, the first since Eric Hosmer.

Second base? Nicky Lopez and his wonderful glove. He might not even have to hit much to keep the job.

Shortstop? Adalberto Mondesi, of course. His defense is comparable to Lopez’s; look out if he hits like he did last September.

Third base? Hunter Dozier, although he may be just warming the spot until Bobby Witt Jr. is ready.

Left field? Andrew Benintendi. Filling Alex Gordon’s old spot with some lefthanded pop is why the KC Royals traded for him.

Center field? Michael A. Taylor. The club is high on him, and the wide expanse in center is his until his bat proves otherwise.

Right field? Whit Merrifield. The rest of the lineup’s strength could allow him to remain in one spot for a while.

DH? The club’s single-season home run champ, Jorge Soler.

It’s a solid lineup packed top to bottom with established big league players. Not since the 2015 World Series team, or perhaps the 2016 club, has a KC Royals early lineup appeared so comfortably set and stable. Only injuries, trades, or extended slumps by Lopez or Taylor should significantly alter the design Dayton Moore worked so hard on over the winter.

As it stands now, this 2021 lineup isn’t going to drop 100 games.

Get to know prospect Clay Dungan. dark. Next

Resolve, a good bullpen, and an established lineup will make the Royals better this season. Losing 100 games isn’t in the cards.

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3 reasons why the KC Royals won’t lose 100 games

The KC Royals lost 100+ games two of the last three years. It won’t happen again in 2021.

The KC Royals feature a strong bullpen. It may be better than many think.

A set lineup will help Mike Matheny and the KC Royals avoid 100 losses.

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