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KC Royals may want to consider this reliever as MLB Trade Deadline nears

The Cubs are coming to town. Maybe Kansas City will talk trade with them.

By Mike Gillespie |
/ Jamie Sabau/GettyImages
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What the KC Royals didn't need in the ninth inning against Arizona Wednesday night they received anyway. Closer James McArthur, whose excellent September endeared himself to the club and its fans last year, and who's been reliable at times but too often unsteady this season, inherited a one-run lead that, if protected, would have given his club its 57th win — one more than they managed all of last season — and increased to two games its slim lead over Boston for the third and final American League Wild Card.

But McArthur failed to secure the victory. Instead, he allowed the Diamondbacks to win this three-game series by handing them five runs, including three on Ketel Marte's one-out homer; those five were just enough for the D-Backs to survive Kansas City's two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth and win 8-6.

James McArthur may not be the stretch run closer the Royals need

McArthur's troubling effort gave him five blown saves for the season and pushed his ERA to 4.91, a mark simply too high for any high-leverage reliever. Opposing batters are also hitting .302 against him, and the performance only confirmed Kansas City's need for bullpen help, especially at the critical back end. McArthur may not be quite ready to close stretch run games for the contending Royals, and there may be no one on this inconsistent bullpen staff who is.

Could general manager J.J. Picollo, whose desire to bolster the pen is well-documented, find some help from the next team Kansas City will host?

Let's see what the Cubs might have to offer...

Chicago might have a reliever Kansas City could use

Because the state of their relief corps prevents the Royals from focusing exclusively on the offensive help they also need, Picollo can't afford to rely on the club's present cast of relievers. Nor should manager Matt Quatraro be forced to to use McArthur, who's never experienced any big league playoff race pressure in any capacity, as his closer. Kansas City could benefit from a new bulpen addition who's been there, done that.

Enter the Chicago Cubs who, with next week's MLB Trade Deadline fast approaching, just happen to be coming to town for a three-game Kauffman Stadium series that begins Friday evening, and are bringing with them Héctor Neris, a postseason-tested major league veteran and proven closer. At age 35 he may not be the ideal candidate for the Royals, but he warrants more than a passing thought.

Although he, like Kansas City's McArthur, figured prominently in a loss Wednesday — he gave up the winning run in the Cubs' 3-2 loss to Milwaukee — Neris 8-3 with a 3.79 ERA and 14 saves in 38 appearances. His .237 OBA is 65 points lower than McArthur's, and he's struck out 38 in 35.2 innings. He's prone, however, to walking too many batters this season, but his 6.06 BB/9 is higher than his career 3.48.

In 11 big league seasons and 584 games, Neris is 41-39 with a 3.28 ERA and 103 saves.

He also has valuable post season experience from his 2022 and 2023 Houston seasons. In the 2022 World Series, he pitched a scoreless inning in the Astros' Game 6 clincher and wasn't scored upon in his other two appearances. He also pitched well in that year's American League Division Series and AL Championship Series.

The primary blemish on Neris' playoff record is the four runs he coughed up to Minnesota in last season's AL Division Series. He subsequently faced Texas five times in the seven-game ALCS and gave up two runs in 6.1 innings.

Does the prospect of acquiring Neris warrant a meeting with the Cubs? Let's find out...

Should the KC Royals consider Héctor Neris?

Picollo should think about Neris; how seriously is the question. Neris struggled some early in the season, and a pair of subpar games bumped his ERA to 4.73 in late June, but in 10 appearances since then he's surrendered only the one run he gave the Brewers Wednesday. His record suggests he's pitching well enough to help some contender, and ESPN's Jess Rogers recently reported scouts have been watching him.

Neris also won't break Kansas City's bank: paying a bit less than half of his $9 million one-year contract has to be within Picollo's trade deadline budget. (That Neris could reach performance incentives that would reward him with a player option for next season could, however, give Picollo pause — if it considers bringing him aboard, the club should think of Neris as a rental to help it get to this year's playoffs, not a longer-term investment).

In the end, how fast the Royals want to supplement their pen, who's available on the market, and who won't demand too much in return for a reliever capable of closing, will determine what Picollo does. There may be better choices out there, but he'd be remiss not to at least have a conversation with the Cubs while they're in town.

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