Matt Quatraro still believes in this KC Royals bullpen amidst struggles

Entering the 2025 season, there were some concerns that the Kansas City Royals bullpen might be a bit of a problem. As is usually the case with a franchise possessing the limited resources that Kansas City does, there are going to be some signings or trades that most would view as a pull on the slot machine.

The gambling on the Royals' bullpen has led to a rather shaky backend of the pitching staff. That includes new closer Carlos Estévez who came to KC after signing a pricey free agent contract this offseason that will see him get paid $22 million over the next two years. Estevez has four saves, but he’s also already got one blown save and posted a 1.67 WHIP in the early going. In his latest outing,
Estévez was able to nail down the win against the Minnesota Twins but he did get touched up in the ninth inning.

Despite Estevez’s and the rest of the bullpen’s struggles, KC Royals manager Matt Quatraro isn’t worried. He knows that he’s seen efforts that will eventually lead to success and he said as much when he recently talked to the MLB Network on SiriusXM Radio. 

KC Royals manager isn’t worried about bullpen despite early struggles

“The depth is there, the stuff is there, the selflessness, the pitch whenever it matters,” Quartraro said. “It's all positive with those guys.”

“We've had a little bit of a tough go with inherited runners so far and some really good pitches that have been made that balls have found holes, and that's one of those things that's completely out of your control.”

The Royals' headman also made it clear that he believes the starters need to go deeper into the game, and the fact that they haven’t yet has also affected the performance.

“We all know how that cumulatively affects the bullpen, and then you don't have to put them in some of those tough spots. But it's going to happen.”

While Kansas City’s bullpen is about in the middle of the pack when it comes to cumulative WHIP according to FanGraphs, there is one glaring weakness so far this year. That should be a good thing, assuming the group can correct it. As of now, the KC Royals rank 28th in baseball in strikeouts per nine innings. Their 7.12 K/9 number puts them ahead of only Cincinnati and Miami. 

Time will tell if Quatraro's confidence in his 'pen reaps rewards.