Early results show Royals may’ve found lasting bullpen solution in trade with Astros

The Kansas City Royals have been criticized for their relatively quiet MLB trade deadline, but the one thing (literally the only thing) they did add to was their pitching depth. While many may focus on the four names that came in between Saturday and deadline day on Monday, none of them are currently on the major league roster. However, who is contributing at the major league level is their trade acquisition from a few weeks ago in Nate Pearson - and he's contributing well.

Pearson was brought in by the Royals on July 22 in a trade with the Houston Astros after he was designated for assignment by them three days prior. And after debuting on July 24, the first returns from Pearson with the Royals have been excellent. He's made four appearances and has yet to surrender an earned run and it took until his most recent outing on Tuesday for him to surrender his first hit in a Royals uniform.

He's not striking hitters out at a better rate than his already diminished total in Houston, but he's also not walking hitters at nearly the same rate either. Control has been his biggest issue, so the fact that early on he's found a way to post a 2.25 BB/9 clip to a 5.40 BB/9 rate when he was cut loose by the Astros is an encouraging sight.

On top of that, while his stuff may not be blowing hitters away, a 3.34 FIP and 0.91 BABIP are respectable marks and show luck isn't a terribly big factor. And the fact he hasn't allowed a hitter to barrel a ball since he came over makes up for his lack of strikeouts.

With a year of additional team control left beyond 2026, if Pearson continues to pitch like this, this floundering Royals bullpen will only stand to gain. And with a relief unit sitting in the bottom two across the board in MLB in ERA, WHIP, FIP and BAA, Kansas City needs any help they can get right now.

Who else can the Royals slot into their 2027 bullpen plans beyond Nate Pearson?

With a bullpen as bleak-looking as Kansas City's is right now, a full-scale makeover seems to be in order. Some names will be on their way out on expiring contracts like John Schreiber and there are a plethora of names who are largely unproven or underachieving at the major league level.

Barring any offseason trades, Daniel Lynch IV seems to be the best name in their 'pen right now amid his sensational breakout campaign. Then, despite the struggles it seems reasonable to believe that Lucas Erceg, Nick Mears and Steven Cruz are good bets to be right back here in 2027 in search of better results over a full season rather than just parts of one.

They still have some massive needs to fill, especially when it comes to who will be their closer and filling out the rest of their high-leverage spots, as Lynch seems like the only surefire option at the moment. However, if they can add a fifth strong candidate to their crop of controllable relief arms for the 2027 season, it only makes their offseason search for better relievers easier - whcih can be a game-changer for a small market organization.

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