4 other options the KC Royals should use before next Will Smith disaster

James McArthur

The MLB season is still in prime small sample-size territory, but that is what we have to go off of. Reliever James McArthur's stats are not great at all so far. But fans who have watched all of his performances so far know the righty has been extremely unlucky in 2024. Who knows how different his season would look so far away from Camden Yards or without two Nick Loftin blunders?

This early in the season, I like to look at more of the predictive stats, especially Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). That metric focuses on what a pitcher can control and converts it to an ERA scale. As of Thursday, McArthur's 12.00 ERA is a massive departure from his 1.31 FIP. One is atrocious, the other elite. That 10.69 difference is the ninth-largest among MLB relievers to boot. That, plus a .538 BABIP, offers hope for McArthur rebounding soon. He should do so in a closer role for Kansas City for one big reason.

This past spring, McArthur spoke with MLB.com's Manny Randhawa about how Kansas City differed from his previous organization, the Philadelphia Phillies. The Royals' change quietly reintroduced McArthur's best pitch last season.

“Right when I came over from the Phillies, they wanted me to start throwing the slider again,” McArthur said. “And I’m glad they did, because it’s helped me a lot and has kind of protected my curveball. … So them helping me with that, I think, was a big part of me turning it around at the end of the year.”

McArthur only threw that pitch 24% of the time last season, and its value was very apparent. The righty is throwing that pitch 29.4% of the time in 2024, with similarly good results. His expected stats are elite, while a lucky bounce on a Byron Buxtun double is skewing that pitch's performance so far this season.

Why hone in so much on one pitch? Every reliever needs a get-out pitch. The weapon in their arsenal they know will get them out of an inning jam, or game entirely. McArthur's slider is his get-out pitch, while a curveball and sinker round out his total arsenal. Royals fans saw what McArthur had to offer as the bullpen's guy last season. Quatraro needs to view Smith's struggles as an opportunity for other players to step in. McArthur needs to be first up.

Nick Anderson

Let's get this straight: Nick Anderson is not the traditional closing candidate this early in the season. The 33-year-old righty only has nine saves in 128 games, six coming in 19 2020 games. Smtih's struggles should force unconventional options into closing Royals games, but if Quatraro swears by a veteran, Anderson makes plenty of sense.

The Royals acquired Anderson via trade in November 2023 as a low-risk option to bolster the bullpen. Anderson has plenty of postseason experience with the Tampa Bay Rays, the same team he earned First Team All-MLB honors with in 2020. Injuries have impacted his availability since, with only 42⅔ innings since September 2021. Still, he has respectable numbers in that span, and Kansas City seems like a great place for him to get back on his figurative feet.

He has only thrown 22 pitches all year, so let's take all this with a grain of salt. Anderson is not inducing the swings and misses I expected, with a 22.2% whiff rate against opposing batters. Couple that with less movement on his curveball and fastball this season, Anderson is not going to explode like he did in 2020. That is why you trade your relievers when their value is highest.

So, considering this, his gaudy ERA and FIP, and low expectations, why would Quatraro move him into a closer role? The best reason I can think of is to protect the younger guys on the roster. Teams chase individual wins, but calculated organizations prioritize the long-term plan. Kansas City should look at their current roster and look to the long term as a team while building upon individual gains this season. It sucks as a Royals fan, but it is true.

All that to say: I would rather Anderson take some lumps closing games than Kansas City rush prospects like Steven Cruz or Will Klein into that role. Those two figure more into the Royals' outlook for 2025 and beyond than players like Anderson. Let him be a short-term quasi-solution and save younger players from the fire.

Angel Zerpa

Don't look now, but Angel Zerpa has already matched his fWAR from 2023 to 2024. That's right, through two games and 1⅔ innings, Zerpa is already worth…

Flips through notes…

Ignores small samples…

.1 fWAR. Huzzah!

In all actuality, Zerpa starting in the MLB bullpen this season is a blessing in disguise. He made his first career start back in 2021 but hasn't carved out a full-time role since. The Royals have added more starting pitching since that debut, and the farm system has starters waiting in the wings. If Zerpa wants to stick at the MLB level, tuning his stuff to that of a high-leverage reliever is the way to go.

Has he already begun that transition? I can see a trend here. Zerpa, whether it be one inning or multiple, did not start any of his seven September 2023 appearances. He posted a 2.29 ERA (5 ER in 19.2 IP), 19 strikeouts, and only two walks in those games. That is exactly what I wanted from Zerpa, albeit two years and a rotational spot too late.

Now, he is still performing well in the Kansas City bullpen. He already has one hold to his name, facing seven batters and striking out two or allowing hits to three. Zerpa's performance against the Minnesota Twins had my blood pressure high when he allowed two baserunners to start the eighth inning. But, between a popout and two strikeouts, Zerpa got out of the inning without much damage.

That damage part is what Kansas City needs to fix now. Closing games don't have to be pretty. It is all about who ends the ninth inning on top. Zerpa hasn't given up runs yet in 2024, showing an ability to ignore a possible disaster and still do his job. He is not the ideal late-inning reliever, but Zerpa can still mold himself and his pitching arsenal to fit that role better.

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