Royals close 93-loss season with bullpen, depth to blame

Relief corps dropped from 4.1 WAR to minus-3.2

Wire Report IntelligenceUpdated 45m1 min read

What happened: Kansas City entered 2026 expecting contention and fell out early behind blown leads and cold lineups. Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen emerged, Michael Wacha held as a veteran stabilizer, Noah Cameron rebounded and Bobby Witt Jr. delivered another sensational season.

Why it matters: The collapse removed Kansas City from the playoff race and pushed the club toward selling at the deadline instead of buying. Thin upper-minors depth left no

By the numbers: Bullpen went from 4.1 fWAR to minus-3.2, a seven-win swing toward a 76-win pace. Club ranked bottom third in runs scored and runs allowed. Randy Dobnak posted 5.9 K/9 and ranked third among pitchers in bWAR. Salvador Perez hit four homers in seven games, with the record breaker tying the game late.

What to watch: Watch for bullpen additions, rotation depth behind Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic and Ryan Bergert, and an on-base bat to set the table.

Sources

Yahoo MLB 2026-09-30T14:22:15.296482+00:00

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