NY Yankees two-time All-Star listed as potential 'free-agent deal' for KC Royals

The Kansas City Royals have already made a number of moves this offseason, but one area of the roster yet to be dealt with is the bullpen — but that could soon change. On November 29, The Athletic's Andy McCullough listed former New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes as a "Black Friday 2024 free-agent deal" for the Royals, commenting on the team's need for bullpen depth.

"The addition of Jonathan India fulfilled the desire for a leadoff hitter and likely foreclosed on a serious pursuit of a more expensive second baseman who can bat leadoff: Gleyber Torres," McCullough wrote. "Going after Holmes, a quality reliever who buckled beneath the weight of closing for the Yankees, could be a worthwhile investment. Holmes still generated whiffs and missed barrels in 2024 even while blowing saves. His arsenal would deepen the Royals bullpen and offer more high-leverage options for manager Matt Quatraro."

McCullough's article comes less than a month after The Athletic's Jim Bowden named the Royals as a "best team fit" for Holmes.

KC Royals are yet to add to struggling bullpen

This year, the Royals bullpen ranked a disappointing 20th in MLB with their combined 4.13 ERA, 23rd in WHIP at 1.33, and 30th — out of 30 teams — in strikeouts with 463. Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo may not be ready to publicly admit it but the Royals are in dire need of bullpen support.

“That’s something we’ll let play out in the offseason," Picollo told MLB.com at the GM Meetings in early November. "We feel very good about our bullpen. Doesn’t mean we won’t do anything, but we feel very good about the depth of our bullpen right now.”

Picollo's optimism may be inspiring, but it's not particularly realistic. The midseason acquisition of closer Lucas Erceg was game-changing for the Royals in 2024, but he can't carry the bullpen by himself, and at least one reliever needs to be acquired before Opening Day.

Is Clay Holmes the relief pitcher to help the Royals' bullpen?

Holmes started the 2024 season as the Yankees' closer, but after earning his second All-Star nod, he struggled down the stretch and lost his role to Luke Weaver in August. The 31-year-old finished the season with the worst stats he's posted since being with the Yankees, going 3-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 63 innings of work.

To be clear, Holmes' 3.14 ERA definitely wasn't bad — it just wasn't as good as he'd previously proven himself capable of, and the Yankees are a notoriously brutal organization and fan base. He was still in the 88th percentile in fastball velocity, according to Baseball Savant, and in the 84th percentile in whiff rate. While Holmes may not have thrived as a closer in 2024, there's no denying that he's a top reliever who would add high-leverage depth to the Royals' bullpen.

So can the Royals afford to sign him?

Sportrac projects that Holmes' will land a four-year, $54.9 million contract out of free agency this winter, which is likely longer and more expensive than the Royals would like. Still, it's not wildly out of the range of negotiation, and if he can reinforce the team's struggling bullpen, Holmes will be worth every cent.

As the Yankees found, Holmes is likely better-suited to a set-up man role than holding onto the closer position, and that would work for the Royals. Erceg is locked in as Kansas City's closer in 2025, and adding Holmes before him would lead to a fierce 1-2 punch at the back of the Royals' bullpen.