Which arms might make the Royals' bullpen?

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Royals rolled out several of their big league relievers for their spring debuts in Saturday’s 10-5 win over the Rangers at Surprise Stadium. Scott Barlow, Josh Taylor, Richard Lovelady and Dylan Coleman all threw scoreless innings, and Carlos Hernández threw two scoreless.

With the 13-pitcher limitation on the active roster come Opening Day, there aren’t many spots open for the taking in Kansas City’s eight-man bullpen. That doesn’t mean there isn’t competition; the Royals intentionally brought 32 pitchers into camp to build up their depth, knowing at some point they might see all of them in Kansas City.

“In a perfect world, you wouldn’t,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “But guys are going to get hurt, guys are going to underperform, there’s going to be reasons to have to use the roster. Fatigue, schedule issues, all those kinds of things. That’s the whole idea of creating good competition and good depth.”

Let’s take a look at the options the Royals have for their bullpen this year. This early in Spring Training, we’re going to solely focus on relievers and not the pitchers that are building up as starters. Brad Keller, Ryan Yarbrough, Jonathan Heasley, Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar and Angel Zerpa could certainly pitch out of the ‘pen in 2023 -- something the Royals are considering.

Locks: Barlow, Aroldis Chapman, Josh Staumont, Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke
Barlow, Chapman and Staumont -- who was already hitting 99 mph, according to the stadium gun, on Friday -- figure to be the Royals’ high-leverage trio in the backend of the bullpen this year. Garrett, a lefty, and Clarke could pitch their way into those situations, too.

It’s unclear yet how Quatraro plans to manage his bullpen in terms of roles and whether he’ll have a clear-cut closer or use different relievers depending on matchups. But it’s likely he’ll rotate through several options based on the situation of each game.

Bubble: Taylor, Hernández, Lovelady, Coleman, Jose Cuas, Collin Snider, Max Castillo
Hernández threw two innings Saturday in his build-up toward pitching for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He’ll be a multi-inning reliever there and will likely be in that role with the Royals this year, too, although he throws 100 mph and could be an option in high-leverage situations if he commands the ball.

“Carlos’ intent was great today,” Quatraro said. “It seemed like he was really focused on throwing strikes and coming after guys. That’s what really stood out to me.”

Several relievers came into camp with new pitches, helped along by the new coaching staff. Cuas, for example, has a new changeup he debuted during Friday’s spring opener. It’s a pitch that could help him with lefties, who slashed .350/.519/.550 off him last year.

“I have to find a way to get them off my fastball,” Cuas said. “I feel like the changeup would be the best way to do it. Just to have them conscious of three pitches. It’s still a work in progress. But I feel like the more I throw it, the more comfortable I’ll be with it.”

Snider, who tossed live BP on Saturday, is now throwing a sweeping slider as well as his tight gyro slider. And he wants to use his four-seam fastball more to have a pitch at the top of the zone that complements his signature sinker.

“As soon as [pitching coach Brian] Sweeney got hired, one of the first calls we had was like, ‘Hey, this is what I did at the end of last year, here’s where I think I need to be with it in Spring Training,’” Snider said. “Everything I listed to [the coaching staff], they said they would have listed it right back to me. That was nice to hear.”

The Royals see Lovelady, who is fully healthy after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021, as a different-look lefty with his three-quarters slot. With Cuas and Snider slinging from the right side, Lovelady could be their lefty counterpart. He will likely be receiving another option year, too, which helps Kansas City’s roster flexibility.

Long shot: Yefri Del Rosario, Andres Nunez, Evan Sisk, Ryan Weiss, Nick Wittgren, Brooks Kriske
Non-roster invitees Sisk and Weiss have especially impressed early -- Weiss with a sweeping slider addition to his arsenal and Sisk, who came to Kansas City in the Michael A. Taylor trade this offseason, with his funky sidearm delivery. Wittgren has the experience of a big league bullpen and a background with Sweeney in Cleveland.

“There’s a lot of depth,” Quatraro said. “There’s a lot of competition. There’s guys that are really making significant progress with the stuff that Brian, [assistant pitching coach Zach Bove] and [bullpen coach Mitch Stetter] are focusing on with them. So it’s been pretty exciting to watch.”