KC Royals finally put overdue end to frustrating tenure with struggling reliever

The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of a difficult state of affairs on the mound, with Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo added to a crowded injured list that already included key arms like Hunter Harvey and Kyle Wright.

However, they finally took a long-awaited step to better their bullpen situation on Sunday, designating veteran right-hander Chris Stratton for assignment and putting an end to what's been a doomed partnership from the start.

KC Royals finally put overdue end to frustrating tenure with Chris Stratton

To say Stratton's time in Kansas City's bullpen hasn't gone to plan might be the ultimate understatement. as the 34-year-old veteran has never looked comfortable in his parts of two seasons with the club.

In 2024, after signing a two-year, $8 million contract, Stratton failed to look remotely close to the sub-4.00 ERA arm he was in the three of the four seasons prior from 2020-2023. He struggled his way to a 5.55 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 58 1/3 innings across 57 appearances.

But those numbers look like Hall-of-Fame statistics compared what he's thrown to in 2025. In 17 innings across 12 outings, Stratton holds a near-8.00 ERA (7.94) along with a 2.18 WHIP and .367 AVG against,

And after his latest blowup in Friday's night's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals - where he surrendered three earned runs on four hits in two innings of work - the Royals had seen enough.

What Kansas City will do with Stratton moving forward is still unknown, whether they stash him in the minors or just outright release him. However, with whatever route they choose to take, the fact he's on his way off the 40-man roster indicates their intention to finally explore other options in the 'pen.

In the meantime, the Royals promoted Jonathan Bowlan to take his place, as the 28-year-old righty will get his second attempt in major leagues this season.

Bowlan looked good in his lone MLB appearance of 2025, going two innings of perfect ball on April 27 against the Houston Astros. He's played a role in the surprisingly great group of depth arms that have helped elevate and this bullpen and support it's key regulars in 2025

Whether he's the arm to assume Stratton's place in the bullpen moving forward remains to be seen, but at this point the Royals couldn't do much worse than what he was giving them, so Bowlan is certainly a welcome upgrade for the time being.