The good news about the Kansas City Royals’ trade deadline was that they stockpiled arms. The bad news is that they’re now trying to navigate some delicate decisions.
On deadline day, Kansas City acquired three potential starting pitchers: Bailey Falter, Ryan Bergert, and Stephen Kolek. There was only room for two of them in the rotation at the time, so Kolek was optioned to Triple-A Omaha.
Now, Michael Lorenzen is set to make his way back from the injured list, so one more spot had to be taken away from a newcomer. And though it’s Falter who has far more big-league experience, Bergert was pitching well enough that the Royals felt they had to keep him right where he was.
Manager Matt Quatraro announced, before Wednesday’s series finale against the Washington Nationals, that Falter would move to the bullpen, after allowing nine earned runs across eight innings in his first two starts with Kansas City.
“Just trying to put the best rotation out there right now and also give us the best chance to match up out of the ‘pen and give us a little depth,” Quatraro said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
Bergert, a rookie who was acquired in a trade with the San Diego Padres, could have instead been optioned to Triple-A to keep Falter in the rotation. But the Royals think he gives them a better chance to win right now.
After allowing just two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings in each of his first two starts, it’s hard to disagree with the logic that Bergert has earned his spot.
“He’s throwing the ball exceptionally well,” Quatraro said. “We’re really happy with that. We think he merits continuing to get starts.”
Falter will have to make an adjustment, seeing as he hasn’t been a full-time reliever since 2021, his rookie season with the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s not much of a strikeout guy, with just 77 punchouts in 121 1/3 innings this year, so it will be interesting to see if his stuff ticks up at all coming on in relief.
At 60-61, the Royals have to be nearly flawless the rest of the way to erase their four-game wild-card deficit. That means regardless of when Lorenzen, Falter, and Bergert get the ball, they’ll need to keep runs at a minimum.
More MLB: Royals’ Latest Farm System Ranking Suggests Uncertain Future In KC
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