Veteran reliever could give KC Royals some key bullpen insurance

A pretty solid argument can be made that the Kansas City Royals wouldn't have reached the playoffs this year without Lucas Erceg. Picked up in a surprising deal with the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline, Erceg stepped into the closer's role and helped stabilize a shaky bullpen by saving 11 games and posting a 2.88 ERA down the stretch.

What Erceg couldn't do, of course, was cure all the imperfections that plagued manager Matt Quatraro's relief corps. Now the Royals enter baseball's winter with unresolved bullpen concerns, and solving as many of those as he can will be one of general manager J.J. Picollo's goals when free agency and trading gear up a day after the World Series ends.

One of those concerns should be the back of the pen. Erceg will enter spring training as the closer and only through poor performance or injury will he lose that job. James McArthur should rebound from a late-season shoulder injury to compete with Kris Bubic, whose 2024 comeback from Tommy John surgery was extremely successful, for the set-up job. But Erceg isn't yet a fully-proven closer, and while McArthur and Bubic have both enjoyed some success as relievers, McArthur is inconsistent and Bubic is still learning the bullpen ropes after being a starter for most of his professional career.

Some bullpen insurance would be nice, especially in the form of a time-tested late-inning man. The Royals might find him in Kenley Jansen, a proven veteran who, assuming he doesn't re-sign with Boston and becomes a free agent, could spell Erceg when he needs rest, replace him if he falters, set him up, or pitch in any other late-inning situation.

The KC Royals should think about Red Sox free agent Kenley Jansen

Picollo might be remiss if he doesn't have Jansen on his list of possible bullpen fixes. Jansen's 447 saves in 15 big league seasons are the most of any active major league reliever, and his career 2.57 ERA is excellent.

Best known for his 12-year, 350-save stint with the Dodgers, Jansen has remained effective after leaving Los Angeles for Atlanta following the 2021 season, then pitching in Boston for the last two years — over those three campaigns he's saved 97 games, including 56 for the Red Sox.

However, Jansen has lost a bit of velocity over the past 10 seasons — though not much — and triggered some controversy in Boston when he left the club after landing on the Injured List with a shoulder issue late this season. Plus, he'll turn 38 late in the 2025 campaign.

So, why should Picollo give him a call? Simple — the Royals need bullpen insurance and Jansen could provide it. As his 4-2 record, 3.29 ERA, and 27 saves in 2024 all suggest, he still pitches well and has lost little to age.

And that Boston controversy might be much ado about very little. According to boston.com's Conor Ryan, Jansen apparently ruffled some teammates' feathers when he went home for the final week of this season, but according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora, "I told Kenley to go home ... the manager decided for him, 'Hey, we're out of it. So if you want to go home, you go home.' And he went home."

Jansen's side of the story is consistent with Cora's. Per Patrick McAvoy at si.com, Jansen explained, "Me and [Cora] have a conversation and I think we both agree of course, I had been dealing with my shoulder the last couple of weeks of inflammation and all that so that's what it was...It's nothing big. We came to an agreement that I think was best to put me on the (Injured List) to let that shoulder recover ... when we got eliminated they agreed that I could go home. No biggie."

Jansen should also be affordable. He made $16 million this season and won't command anything Kansas City can't pony up. He's also what Aroldis Chapman was when Picollo signed him almost two years ago — an established reliever who could bolster KC's bullpen and be an attractive midseason trade chip. And remember, trading Chapman was how KC snared Cole Ragans.

Whether Jansen is on Kansas City's radar isn't known, but touching base with him won't cost the Royals a penny and could lead to something good.

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