Royals could use Arizona Fall League, Rule 5 draft to solve biggest bullpen issue

The Kansas City Royals have multiple areas they could stand to upgrade this offseason and certain players in particular they could stand to upgrade from.

One of the most common areas most teams enter an offseason looking to upgrade is the bullpen, given how volatile MLB relief pitching can be year-over-year. The Royals are in fact part of "most teams" here and one name in particular that's been an issue for them in the bullpen is Sam Long.

Obviously, they'll likely explore the free agent or trade markets to make relief improvements, but they could also get creative to find a Sam Long upgrade.

The Rule 5 draft is a way to insert names with promise for the future into your organization and onto your 26-man roster immediately. Smaller market teams like the Royals have utilized this in the past for cost-effective roster construction but it's less commonly used by postseason contending teams - like Kansas City also happens to be at the moment.

However, there are a few intriguing arms that the Royals could potentially target in this year's Rule 5 whose skillsets would certainly help fill the gaps that Long has left them with. And as the MLB Pipeline crew of Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo have pointed, some of those names happen to be on full display in the Arizona Fall League.

Why Sam Long has become the Royals' bullpen's biggest issue?

Sam Long did see a major improvement in his second-half ERA after a putrid start to the season and then a long-term IL stint. That fact cannot be denied. However, the major improvements seemingly stopped at ERA as when all was said and done at the end of the season, Long was lacking in numerous key areas for a reliever.

For starters, Long only struck out hitters at a 17.5% rate. Strikeouts aren't the be-all-end-all for relievers, as groundball specialists like former Royal Tim Hill has showed us on the biggest stages recently, but if you're not inducing Ks, you have to be efficient elsewhere. And Long was anything but in 2025.

He walked hitters at a high 11.6% rate, only induced soft contact at a 21.2% clip and gave up more damage-inducing contact results of flyballs or line drives 60.3% of the time.

He's walking hitters to often, allowing the ball to get in the air more often than not when contact is made - often hard contact too - and he's not striking hitters out at nearly the rate to minimize the effects of these shortcomings. It's nowhere near the ideal combination for a successful relief pitcher.

3 Arizona Fall League pitchers the Royals could target in the Rule 5 draft

As mentioned already, the MLB Pipeline crew showcased a list of currently Rule 5 eligible names that are currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, including a few intriguing arms that might tickle the fancy of the Royals' brass.

One fellow left-handed arm that offers the Royals some solutions to a few of Long's shortcomings is Jake Bennett, who currently sits in the Washington Nationals' system.

Bennett is coming off a very impressive year across three stops in the minor leagues, where he threw to a 2.27 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 1.08 WHIP and .224 BAA. This also includes a 2.56 ERA and 1.12 WHIP showing in 45.2 innings at Double-A Harrisburg.

Bennett didn't shake the earth with just 21.5% K-rate in the minors, but his walk rate was a favorable looking 6.4%. He also happened to keep the ball on the ground nearly 50% of the time (47.3%) and it only looked better in his first taste in the upper minors, rising from 43.1% in High-A to 48.1% in Double-A.

Looking at another direct southpaw replacement is Welinton Castillo, who's currently a member of the Colorado Rockies' farm system.

Unlike Bennett, Castillo is already in a relief role and threw to a 2.64 ERA, 2.02 FIP, 1.14 WHIP and .202 BAA in 64.2 innings across 52 appearances between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford this season.

He was a strikeout specialist in 2025, posting a 36.4% K-rate while limiting walks to an under 10% clip of 9.2%. He could stand to improve his walk rate while also doing better in his quality of contact rates, but his strikeout potential could be too tempting to ignore.

Then there's a bit of indirect replacement with a right-hander in Eiberson Castellano, a Philadelphia Phillies farmhand.

All but an 1.1 innings of work for Castellano came in Double-A Reading this year. His stat line of a 5.14 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and .261 may look underwhelming, but there's certainly tools he possesses that would make him a intriguing target in December.

Castellano posted a 24.2% strikeout rate in Reading this season, which comes out to a very respectable 10.03 K/9. He also didn't allow the walk rate to raise too high, keeping it at 8.7% (3.60 BB/9). He pairs this with the ability to keep the ball on the ground at a solid 45.5% clip.

Whether or not the Royals see the need to fill a spot on their 26-man roster with a Rule 5 guy remains to be seen. After all, they do have some competitive intrigue on the open market.

That being said, they have been a traditionally frugal team which coincides well with the Rule 5 draft, so there's a real possibility that coming off a season where they missed the playoffs, they could look to snatch up the right name in this year's Rule 5 draft should they be available in order to save a bit of money.