Revisiting The Royals' Last Offseason Acquisitions: Pitchers

The Royals’ pitching acquisitions focused on adding bullpen arms. Of the seven pitchers the Royals acquired last offseason who spent time on the major-league roster, only one made a start. Which of these relievers were able to make a positive impact for the Royals in 2026?

These grades are based on a mixture of the decision at the time it was made combined with how the season eventually panned out. The pitchers are ordered from most to least innings pitched.

Alex Lange

Lange was signed to a one-year contract worth $1,925,000. Lange was coming off a season in which he only pitched one inning for the Tigers and after recovering from a lat injury that kept him sidelined for nearly 15 months. 

Since joining the Royals, Lange has posted a 6.18 ERA over 59 ⅔ innings and -0.8 fWAR. Lange’s season wasn’t a struggle for the whole season. In May, he had a stretch of nine appearances without giving up a run. During that time, he assumed closing responsibilities after Lucas Erceg struggled and lost his job as the closer. Lange, however, would also eventually lose the closer role.

Lange has been particularly susceptible to allowing hard contact and struggled in finding the strike zone. With high walk rates this season and allowing an opposing wOBA of .367, Lange was susceptible to allowing big innings. He allowed at least two earned runs in nine of his 58 appearances.

Lange was able to stay healthy following his recovery last year and leads all Royals pitchers in appearances. At least the Royals weren't paying anywhere near the top of the reliever market for his level of production.

Grade: D+

Matt Strahm

Strahm was acquired in a trade that sent Jonathan Bowlan to the Phillies. He was coming off three consecutive seasons with at least 1.6 fWAR and had experience pitching in high-leverage situations. Strahm was penciled in to join Carlos Estevez and Erceg as the anchors of the bullpen. Unfortunately, nothing went right for Strahm in 2026. 

Strahm threw 35 ⅔ innings with a 7.32 ERA and -1.3 fWAR. His ERA mark is a career high, along with his 7.14 FIP. He saw his strikeout rate plummet from 27.3% last season to 18.6%, and his fastball velocity decreased from 92.3 mph to 91.3 mph.

His season can be encapsulated by the moment he gave up a walk-off grand slam on an 0-2 count against the Twins on July 30th. Strahm had the opportunity to seal the game in a save opportunity, but was unable to make the pitch.

KODY CLEMENS ULTIMATE GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/zIp6jZ3fgR

— MLB (@MLB) July 30, 2026

Strahm was designated for assignment a week later and was officially released on August 8th after clearing waivers. Strahm did not join another team for the remainder of the season.

To make matters worse, Bowlan has performed well for the Phillies. Out of the bullpen, he has a 3.36 ERA with a 0.8 fWAR over 56 ⅓ innings in 59 appearances. It’s one thing for a trade to not pan out, but for the player who was sent away to find success at his new club is just adding insult to injury.

Grade: F

Mason Black

Black was acquired in a trade from the Giants in exchange for Logan Martin. Black spent most of the season going back and forth between Kansas City and Omaha, and has thrown for 31 ⅓ innings with a 4.13 ERA and -0.5 fWAR. While his performance has not been as catastrophic as Strahm’s this season, his key Statcast metrics have been below average across the board.

Most projections for Black going into the season were modest, with predictions placing him at near or slightly above replacement level, but he was unfortunately unable to meet that expectation.

Next season, he will be entering his age-27 season and will be under team control through the 2031 season. Should the Royals retain him, there will still be time for Black to improve and grow into a role on the major-league roster. However, until he can prove otherwise, the Royals would be wise to examine other solutions for next year’s bullpen.

Grade: C-

Jose Cuas

Cuas threw for 23 ⅓ innings out of the bullpen with a 2.31 ERA, 2.89 FIP and 0.4 fWAR. His fWAR ranks 3rd-highest among Royals relievers.

Cuas was signed to a minor league contract in the offseason and, like Black, spent much of the season in Kansas City and Omaha. He was mostly used as a middle-relief option and had moderate success. He did not see many opportunities in high-leverage situations, but he earned five holds and only one blown lead when called upon in close games. Considering he was signed to a minor league deal and outperformed many of the relievers this season, this signing should be considered a success.

Grade: A-

Eli Morgan

Morgan also joined the Royals on a minor league contract and spent a lot of his season going between the majors and Triple-A. Morgan threw for 19 ⅓ innings with a 5.12 ERA and -0.3 fWAR. 

While not able to find his footing in the major-league bullpen, Morgan certainly earned his opportunities with strong performances in Omaha. He threw for 25 ⅔ innings with a 1.40 ERA for the Stormchasers. Morgan was designated for assignment on August 13 and signed for the Yankees after clearing waivers and electing free agency. He has not made a major-league appearance for New York yet, but his performance in Omaha at least demonstrated enough to earn another opportunity with the Yankees.

While Morgan’s time in Kansas City certainly could not be classified as a success, he was available as an option for a bullpen that was unable to find answers all season.

Grade: C

Nick Mears

Mears was packaged with Isaac Collins in a trade that sent Angel Zerpa to the Brewers. The Collins side of the deal was graded a B-, so how did Mears fare for his part of the trade?

Unfortunately, Mears had less success in Kansas City than Isaac Collins. Mears threw for 19 ⅓ innings with a 5.12 ERA and 0.0 fWAR. His appearances were often in the sixth or seventh innings and would run hot and cold. He also was unable to strand inherited runners, allowing at least one run to score in all three appearances when he entered with runners on base.

Mears’s season ended prematurely in late May, when he ultimately found himself on the 60-day injured list with season-ending shoulder surgery. The Royals still have one year left of control, so he could potentially rebound next season. 

Grade: C

Mitch Spence

Spence was acquired from the Athletics in exchange for A.J. Causey. Spence is the offseason acquisition to make a start in this year’s regular season. He made two relief appearances along with his lone start to total 9 ⅓ innings with a 21.21 ERA. With such a small sample, the ERA should be taken with a grain of salt.

His 74 innings in Triple-A have not been earth-shattering with a 5.35 ERA and 4.96 FIP, but his four remaining years of team control could allow him more opportunities to impress in Kansas City if the Royals decide to keep him around. 

Grade: D+

The Royals had targeted the bullpen as an area for improvement last offseason, and unfortunately, the majority of those additions have not panned out (yet). The 2026 Royals bullpen combined for a 5.05 ERA (ranked 30th) and -2.9 fWAR (29th). J.J. Picollo and the front office will have plenty of work to do if they want to turn the bullpen into a strength heading into 2027. 

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