Yankees Two-Time All-Star Predicted To Join Lucas Erceg In Back Of Royals' Bullpen
Even though the Kansas City Royals had one of the most impressive turnarounds in baseball history in 2024, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
It's safe to say the Royals' Achilles' heel was the lackluster bullpen this season, which ranked 20th in the league with a 4.13 ERA. Luckily, Kansas City had the second-best rotation to carry the club to its first playoff appearance since 2015.
Fortunately, the Royals have plenty of viable options in this year's free-agent market, such as a former New York Yankees reliever looking to bounce back next year after a rocky 2024 campaign.
"Acquiring Jonathan India from the (Cincinnati) Reds filled a huge hole at the top of the Royals’ lineup; now they need to bolster the back end of their bullpen and (Clay) Holmes could be a good match," The Athletic's Jim Bowden wrote Friday. "Holmes lost the closer job last season with the Yankees — he had 13 blown saves in 40 save opportunities — but he was effective in high-leverage moments as a set-up reliever, which looks like his best role."
Holmes was a dominant closer for the Yankees from 2022-2023 but his reign at the back of the Bronx's bullpen appears to be over after the emergence of former St. Louis Cardinals first-round draft pick Luke Weaver.
"He posted a 3.14 ERA over 67 appearances this year in his age-31 season," Bowden continued. "Using Holmes to set up Lucas Erceg or potentially sharing the closer role with him would make sense. Kansas City Royals — Clay Holmes, right-handed pitcher (2 years, $18.5 million)."
Signing Holmes for an estimated annual average value of $9.25 million would make the two-time All-Star the fourth-highest-paid player on the Royals' roster -- right above superstar Bobby Witt Jr.'s $7.7 million salary for 2025.
Regardless, the Royals' bullpen needs bolstering and if used correctly, Holmes could significantly improve Kansas City's relief core. Hopefully, the two-time World Series champions have enough payroll room to land the high-leverage hurler.
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