Bailey Falter calling out Royals might’ve led to team cutting their losses

While it’s not common to see a swingman dominate headlines like Bailey Falter did on Tuesday, that’s what happens when you surrender seven earned runs in under three innings of work to raise your season ERA to almost 14.00. Because of this, the Kansas City Royals opted to designate the 28-year-old southpaw for assignment ahead of Wednesday’s series finale with the New York Yankees.

However, after his DFA was revealed, it appears things may not have been so amicable between Falter and the Royals following his blow-up outing. According to Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star, Falter was reportedly “extremely frustrated” regarding his role, saying that not having definitive role as a starter or reliever was “tough for the whole mental prep”.

Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported after the start that Falter felt his second spot start came as a surprise.

“I’ve been in the bullpen the past few days, been trying to do my bullpen routine,” Falter said to Rogers. “Trying to stay ready, just in case I do get in the game. And then just another last-minute start. Kind of just throws a whole wrench in the plan.”

However, Rogers also reports that manager Matt Quatraro said pregame that he was confident Falter “would be in a ‘better spot'” compared to his last spot start due to having time to prepare for his start.

Regardless, of who’s in the wrong here or whether Falter was prepared to start on Tuesday or not, the fact remains that this wasn’t his first spell of underachieving in a Royals uniform. In four outings last season, Falter was far from the trade deadline asset he was hoped to be, throwing to an 11.25 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and .370 BAA before his season was cut short due to injury. And before his spot starting nightmare over his past two outings, Falter was just as inefficient as the long-man out of the bullpen, throwing to a 10.13 ERA, 2.63 WHIP and .423 AVG in relief.

Statistically he goes down as one of the worst pitchers to ever suit up for the Royals, so the writing was essentially on the wall for his DFA. Perhaps the boiled over frustrations were just the spark to make it happen.

Contention in the locker room is the last thing the Royals need right now

At the end of the day, at now 12 games under .500 following being swept at home to the Yankees on Wednesday, this team needs unity now more than ever. It seems foolish to think that the Royals should still be dreaming about returning to the postseason, but locker room contention is only going to make for a more toxic playing environment.

And at the end of the day, team’s have gone on miraculous runs before to make the postseason. Just look at the Cleveland Guardians last year. On July 31 after trading away their former Cy Young winner in Shane Bieber, they were nine games out of first in the AL Central and at one point 15.5 games behind the Tigers. Then, a 19-4 run from Sept. 5 to the end of the year clinched them not only a postseason spot, but also the division.

Am I saying the Royals are going to turn the tables like that. No, nobody can predict that sort of miracle run.

However, the fact of the matter is, while the AL Central may be a stretch at this point being 10 games back of Cleveland, the overall American League postseason landscape isn’t as daunting as it’s been in the past. As of right now the Royals division rivals in Minnesota hold the final wild card spot at 27-29. The Royals only sit five games back of that an it’s not even June yet.

Now, in order to make that happen, the Royals need to be proactive and not rely on the status quo. They’ve proven that this roster is not capable of winning more often than not. However, perhaps with moves to bolster some the weaker positions on their roster such as second base or minimizing the injury damage in the rotation by adding another starting arm, the Royals could perhaps play some more inspiring baseball to at least keep them in the hunt – or at the very least pull Royals fans out of the total pits of despair where they currently reside.