Royals make glaringly obvious decision to put an end to failed reunion with floundering southpaw

In the wake of the trade deadline, many Royals fans expected immediate roster decisions to made, whether that be with new roster pieces or strictly existing ones. Well, the dust has settled and the Royals opted with the latter, keeping the status quo for the time being by calling up names that have already been here, activating MVP-hopeful Bobby Witt Jr. from the IL and recalling Jose Cuas from Triple-A Omaha.

However the big news on Tuesday came in the pieces they demoted to make space, headlined by their not shocking but high profile decision to designate former All-Star set-up man Matt Strahm for assignment. While there was an outside shot that he could be traded at the deadline, it wasn't as surprising to see him still on the roster when the deadline past on Monday considering just how bad his season has gone this year.

After posting a 1.87 ERA in 2024 and 2.74 ERA in 2025 as a high-leverage stalwart with the Phillies, Strahm entered the season as one of the best relievers in baseball - most notably ranked seventh in MLB in the preseason by MLB Network's The Shredder. However, he's looked miles away from that in his return to Kansas City, posting a 7.32 ERA, 7.13 FIP, 1.49 WHIP and .269 BAA in 35.2 innings across 41 outings.

His strikeout numbers are down to 7.57 K/9 from 10.11 K/9 the year prior, his walks are up 3.53 BB/9 from 2.89 and he's getting shelled far more often with 3.03 HR/9 from just 0.72 last season. For context, of all qualified relievers in baseball, Strahm's HR/9 rate is the highest and he's only one that has surpassed the 3.00 threshold in that category.

Matt Strahm's struggles are just a micorcosm of Royals bullpen's downfall in 2026

Strahm was the most glaringly obvious underperformer in this Royals 'pen this season, but it's largely because of his expiring contract that he finds himself as a DFA candidate. In reality there are plenty of names that are teetering on that threshold of unusable that only seem protected on the 40-man roster because of their remaining control or injury status.

Lucas Erceg has had a huge fall from grace this season, going from a closer in his first stint post-trade deadline 2024, to their key set-up man to Carlos Estévez in 2025, to suddenly not having a clear role after losing his closing responsibilities this season. In 41 innings of work this year, Erceg holds the second most blown saves in baseball this season with six while throwing to a 6.37 ERA, 5.46 FIP, 1.78 WHIP and .296 BAA and walking 13% of opposing hitters.

Then there's Estévez, who after leading the major leagues in saves in 2025, struggled to find his velocity in spring training and it showed in his first appearance of the year. He'd blow his first save opportunity in the second game of the Royals' season, surrendering six earned runs in just a third of an inning of work. He's been on the injured list since then with no clear timeline of when he might return.

And those are just the higher profile examples. This relief unit has been extremely disappointing as a whole. They sit second-to-last in MLB as a unit in ERA at 5.40 and BAA at .270 and dead-last in both FIP at 5.26 and WHIP at 1.55.

This team has had a lot of holes in 2026, hence why they sit 21 games under .500 with the fourth worst record in all of baseball four days into August. However, it's clear to see that their bullpen has been their worst facet of the team, with no one apart from Daniel Lynch IV, really stepping up for more than just temporary stretches this season, if that.

If any area of Royals' roster needs a complete revamp ahead of 2027, it's the bullpen.

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