Royals’ confusing roster cut looks even worse as former reliever thrives with D-Backs

As the Kansas City Royals get set to embark on the 2026 season, one area of their roster that still bears some uncertainty is the bullpen.

With multiple spots still potentially up for grabs and a closer in Carlos Estévez who doesn’t look nearly like the MLB saves leader form 2025 so far in spring training, the Royals relief corps could use another boost right about now.

This were someone like 2025 Royals standout Taylor Clarke would be useful after really coming into his own and even taking on some high-leverage innings down the stretch for them last season.

However, instead of running it back with Clarke for 2026, Kansas City opted to not tender him a contract this winter and let him walk for nothing in free agency.

And after finding his way back to the Arizona Diamondbacks in January, Clarke has done nothing but make the Royals decision to cut ties with him look that much worse so far this spring.

Former Royals reliever Taylor Clarke looks like legitimate set-up option for Diamondbacks

In 7.2 innings of work so far in D-backs in camp, Clarke appears to be doubling-down on the unlikely success he built last season. He’s currently throwing to a 1.17 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and .148 BAA in that span.

The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been pillaged by injuries when it comes to back-end arms, with A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez both undergoing Tommy John surgery last summer.

So, someone like Clarke could seamlessly insert himself into those vacant high-leverage innings, which as per FanGraphs’ Roster Resource he’s currently projected to slot in right behind closer Paul Sewald.

Now, in terms of set-up options, the Royals have a pair of options that are probably more stable with a longer track record of high-leverage success than Clarke in Lucas Erceg and the re-acquired Matt Strahm.

However, as already touched upon, while Estévez is usually a slow starter, especially when it comes to his velocity, Joel Penfield of KC Sports Network feels he’s abnormally behind schedule and that “this is more than ‘something to monitor'”.

At a time like this, where there could be potential for some unwanted bullpen shuffling in the back, having more options to combat a potnential Estévez blowup could make a world of difference and if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that Clarke has shown he’s comfortable being thrown into those set-up scenarios.

While other departures like Angel Zerpa could be generating a degree of trade remorse right now, especially after his excellent WBC run, at least the Royals got some valuable pieces in return for him.

Clarke on the other hand walked for nothing and that’s looking like a bigger mistake by the day.