Could this former star closer be an immediate solution to KC Royals bullpen issues?

The Kansas City Royals sit 8-11 on the season and currently don't look like the top American League contender like they were thought to have been entering the season.

While their rotation has lived up to mark, currently ranking third in the top five in ERA, their bullpen has been a contributor as to why they look so mediocre.

There's no doubting that they have a good group of high-leverage arms in the backend in Carlos Estévez, Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey. The issue is whether or not they have the right amount of arms to bridge the gap between the starters and that talented trio in those middle innings.

While Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber have looked like solid options to start the season, they don't have a plethora of other reliable arms to turn to to avoid taxing arms like Schreiber and Lynch or using Estévez, Erceg or Harvey outside of their usual high-leverage situations. Ángel Zerpa hasn't looked like the arm he was in spring training, Sam Long is already injured, but even when he's on the mound and healthy he still holds an ERA in the double-digits, and Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz have looked good so far but don't have a wealth of major league experience to fall back on.

On top of Long's injury, their more reliable unit of relievers has now been struck by the injury bug, after Hunter Harvey landed on the 15-day IL last Friday, causing more reason for concern.

While it may be somewhat unconventional, a lasting solution could come via the free agent market in a former star closer - David Robertson, who is still available to sign.

David Robertson could be a solution to the KC Royals bullpen issues

Signing a free agent after the offseason season isn't the ideal course of action to take when addressing in-season needs. After all, spring training is there for a reason, allowing players to ease into competitive gameplay and get their feet under them.

That being said though, while a starting pitcher may really need the spring to get back up to a starter's workload and a hitter may need it to really nail down their timing in the box against in-game pitching at full-strength, a reliever's build up seems a lot less intense given their shorter workloads.

So assuming Robertson has been working out and is in MLB shape and just awaiting a chance to pitch again, the process could be a short one to get him into a big league bullpen in 2025, especially given his veteran experience.

While he may not be the star closer he once was when he was racking up 30+ saves a season with both the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox from 2014 to 2016, the 40-year-old Robertson still has some solid seasons under his belt in recent years.

The last three seasons have been more than respectable ones for the major league journeyman. In 2022 he posted a 2.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 63 2/3 innings split between the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies. Then in 2023, he spent time with both the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins, where in 65 1/3 innings, he threw to a 3.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. Finally, the righty spent last season with the Texas Rangers, where in 72 innings of work, he posted an even 3.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Not bad for an old-timer.

And looking at his underlying metrics from a year ago, Robertson clearly still has something to give. His 33.3% strikeout rate ranked in the 96th percentile of league arms, he managed to get hitters to whiff at a 79th percentile rate of 29.5%, he kept the ball on the ground at 75th percentile clip of 47.0% and his fastball velo still sat in the mid-90s (94.7 mph).

His presence in the Royals 'pen would make a lot of sense for multiple reasons. He could come in an lengthen the back end of this bullpen, giving the Royals high-leverage quality over the last four innings now. Or he could enter the mix of middle relief inning arms, providing a jolt of experience to the mix of younger arms like Lynch and Zerpa, while dispelling the need to use those lacking in quality as frequently, like Chris Stratton or Sam Long.

While there's nothing officially tying him to Kansas City at this point in time, the need for improvement in the bullpen is staring J.J. Picollo and the Royals' front office in the face, and at some point they'll need to consider addressing it externally. The good news is, there's a quality option sitting right in front of them should they want to really tackle this issue head-on sooner rather than later.