The Kansas City Royals are the champions of baseball and a barometer of change in the sport.
For decades, the conventional wisdom in baseball has been that you must have very good starting pitching to achieve success through the regular season and in the postseason, and with a handful of exceptions, this has been the most consistent rule of team-building.
The Royals finished 11th in starters' ERA in 2014, when they faced the Giants in the World Series, and then were 22nd in starters' ERA in 2015, before beating the Mets for the title. The Kansas City rotation has been OK, but what has distinguished the Royals has been the dominance of its bullpen, both in terms of quality and depth.
The great Braves clubs of the 1990s and 2000s might be the most acute example of a team investing the bulk of its resources in starting pitching -- whatever was left was spent on the bullpen -- and now there is a shift in that. This has been a good winter for the reliever wage scale, with Tony Sipp getting $18 million over three years and Darren O'Day signing for $31 million over four years. Oakland agreed to a three-year, $22 million deal with Ryan Madson, who had been out of baseball from 2012 to 2014, and the Royals agreed to a three-year, $25 million deal with Joakim Soria. Shawn Kelley got three years and $15 million from the Nationals.
And remember this: Going into the winter, the perception of the industry was that this free-agent class didn't have a high volume of alternatives.
Additionally, contenders scrambled for closers, with Houston giving up a good package of prospects for Ken Giles and the Yankees buying low on Aroldis Chapman.
There is now a greater focus on building great bullpens, and with that in mind, here's Part 2 of our ongoing series of team unit rankings: the top 10 bullpens. (We ranked the top 10 rotations Monday.)
Five hundred and sixty-five players pitched in relief in major league games in 2015 (including a handful of position players), and among those, only three posted 100 or more strikeouts:
Dellin Betances, 131 K's
Aroldis Chapman, 116 K's
Andrew Miller, 100 K's
That's now the back end of the Yankees' bullpen.
In theory, anyway. The Yankees do not know whether Chapman will be suspended for one game in 2016, or 100, or none at all; that was part of the risk of acquiring the left-hander, along with whatever they don't know about Chapman's history.
If and when Chapman is part of their bullpen, no other team will be able to match them in terms of pure stuff.
There will be continuing questions about whether the heavy workload on Betances and Miller could eventually take them down and about whether Yankees manager Joe Girardi will take advantage of Chapman's presence and call on the other two less.
Also, the Yankees will have jobs up for grabs in the spring for roles in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, and they need to identify someone who can step into the role handled so well by Adam Warren last season. The candidates include Bryan Mitchell, Chasen Shreve, Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Jacob Lindgren, Branden Pinder, James Pazos, Nick Rumbelow and others.
In the least surprising development of the winter, Girardi said Monday that Chapman will be his closer. With Chapman, it's game over, writes Kevin Kernan.
What Wade Davis has done the past two seasons is unprecedented, depending on what sort of qualifiers you consider. In the regular season and postseason combined, he has pitched 164 1/3 innings, allowing 85 hits, 3 homers and 16 earned runs while recording 225 strikeouts. And he might've thrown his glove higher than any other pitcher at the end of a World Series since Jesse Orosco when the Mets won in 1986.
Davis will be the closer again, with Kelvin Herrera, Joakim Soria and Luke Hochevar serving as the primary setup men. Greg Holland was hugely important in 2014 and Madson was crucial last season, and they're both gone; whether the Royals have the kind of bullpen depth they've had the past couple of seasons will depend on a variety of factors, including the development of some internal options.
Left-hander Danny Duffy could be shifted into a relief role, depending on how the rotation is structured, and Tim Collins is working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
Just as the Red Sox rotation looks completely different with David Price at the front end, the makeover of the Boston bullpen is also striking, with Craig Kimbrel added for the ninth inning and Carson Smith acquired for a setup role. Kimbrel struggled somewhat for the Padres last season, but he still had 87 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings; of the 1,366 batters he has faced over his career, Kimbrel has whiffed 563 of them.
But Boston's deal for Smith was the envy of the industry, because he is the rare sinkerball pitcher who also generates a ton of strikeouts. Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski -- formerly the Tigers' GM -- said over the phone Monday that for him, Smith came across the radar when he pitched against the Tigers, displaying his unusual delivery and wipeout slider. "He made some good hitters look not so good," Dombrowski said. One of the folks in the Boston front office compared Smith, in his look, to longtime reliever Jeff Nelson, who had a great slider and dominated right-handers. Among relievers with at least 60 innings in 2015, Smith ranked fourth with a ground ball/fly ball ratio of 1.91, and he was seventh in strikeout rate at 11.83 per nine innings.
The additions of Kimbrel and Smith should allow Red Sox manager John Farrell to deploy Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa more conservatively. (Many scouts felt Tazawa wore down last season.)
With the improvement in the Boston rotation, the Red Sox are hopeful they'll get more innings out of the starters, allowing them to use their relievers in the roles for which they are best suited. Robbie Ross will work from the left side for the Red Sox along with Roenis Elias and Tommy Layne, who held lefties to a .148 average last season. Boston has other bullpen options as well, from Matt Barnes to knuckleballer Steven Wright, who is out of options.
The Astros had a number of great bullpen weapons last season, but they lacked one major element: a shutdown closer. And now Houston manager A.J. Hinch can call on Ken Giles, who has established himself as one of the game's most dynamic relievers in his first season and a half, including 151 strikeouts in his first 115 2/3 innings.
Luke Gregerson, Tony Sipp, Will Harris and Pat Neshek will share the responsibilities in the eighth, seventh and sixth innings, and Josh Fields has allowed only four homers in 105 1/3 innings over the past two seasons, with 137 strikeouts.
5. Chicago Cubs
The bulk of the ninth inning work for the Cubs last season was done by Hector Rondon, who had 30 saves, but seven relievers registered saves. The Cubs should again have bullpen depth, with holdovers Pedro Strop (81 strikeouts in 68 innings), Trevor Cahill, Justin Grimm, Travis Wood and Neil Ramirez and newcomers Adam Warren and Rex Brothers. Teams such as the Yankees might have more dynamic options at the back end, but the Cubs might have more depth than any other team in baseball.
The Cardinals re-signed Jonathan Broxton, who could take some of the pressure off Trevor Rosenthal; then again, that was the plan at the trade deadline last season as well, and Rosenthal made 13 appearances in August and then struggled in September. Rosenthal threw more pitches than any regular closer in the majors last season, and the Cardinals must find a way to reduce his workload, as well as that of Kevin Siegrist, who threw more pitches than all but three relievers last season and made a staggering 81 appearances.
The Cardinals had the third-lowest bullpen ERA in the majors last season, behind the Pirates and Royals, with Seth Maness generating a ton of ground balls. But around Rosenthal, Siegrist and Broxton, some other solutions need to be identified for 2016. Jordan Walden threw well for the Cardinals in making 12 appearances in 25 days before his 2015 season ended with a shoulder injury, and Miguel Socolovich finished well. Mitch Harris had some good moments as well.
Manager John Gibbons has not declared how he'll use the depth that the Blue Jays might have in their bullpen, but no matter how he aligns the group, he'll have a lot more options than he had last spring. Newly acquired Drew Storen could be the closer, or perhaps Roberto Osuna will get the job again, and Gibbons has All-Star reliever Brett Cecil, Aaron Sanchez and lefty Aaron Loup as well.
This placement is based somewhat on the Pirates' exceptional ability to identify bullpen fixes and address them, because they've lost some valuable pieces over the winter, from Antonio Bastardo to Joakim Soria. Pittsburgh listened to trade offers for Mark Melancon this winter, but he's still in line to be the Pirates' closer. Tony Watson, Jared Hughes and the newly signed Neftali Feliz will act as the setup men.
Closer Zach Britton is among the best relievers in baseball, possessing a heavy sinker that enabled him to compile a seemingly impossible ground ball/fly ball ratio of 4.30. Darren O'Day returns as the setup man, and the Orioles are in discussions with free agent Antonio Bastardo; if the lefty lands in Baltimore, the Orioles may move Brian Matusz. Teammates believe that T.J. McFarland's stuff is so nasty that he inevitably will take on a more prominent role.
10. Miami Marlins
New Marlins manager Don Mattingly will have a lot more hard throwers in his bullpen than he had with the Dodgers last season, starting with Carter Capps, a pitcher some hitters regard as the most difficult challenge to hit. The reliever has the delivery of a cricket bowler, seemingly leaping at the hitter, and last season he allowed 18 hits and 4 earned runs in 31 innings, striking out 58. That means that among the 93 outs he registered, 62.3 percent came via punchouts.
Closer A.J. Ramos whiffed 87 batters in 70 1/3 innings last season, and Kyle Barraclough, who was acquired for Steve Cishek, has an average fastball velocity of 95.6 mph. Meanwhile, lefty Mike Dunn recorded 65 strikeouts in 54 innings. This unit doesn't have the experience or pedigree of some of the other bullpens on this list, but it should be pretty good.
Best of the rest: Cleveland Indians, who probably should be in the top 10 after ranking fourth in bullpen ERA last season; the San Francisco Giants, who must find a replacement for Jeremy Affeldt; and the Mets, who saw Jeurys Familia emerge as one of the game's best closers after the All-Star break last season. New York's bullpen should have the luxury of being able to throw relatively few innings, considering the strength of the team's rotation.
Notables
• Punishment looms for the Cardinals, writes Derrick Goold, after the plea bargain of a former St. Louis executive.
A lot of folks in baseball believe commissioner Rob Manfred needs to set a hard precedent with his decision.
• Dave Schoenfield writes about the excellence of the Mets' rotation.
• Orioles manager Buck Showalter wouldn't be surprised if the Chris Davis situation drags into March.
• There is a belief in the industry that while the White Sox are open to the idea of adding another outfielder, they do not want to spend big dollars on someone like Justin Upton or Yoenis Cespedes. Rather, a second-tier option might make more sense.
• This is great news: Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang continues to make progress as he recovers from the devastating knee injury he suffered last season.
• The Reds are signing a shortstop from Cuba.
• The Pirates signed Daniel Bard to a minor league contract.
Moves, deals and decisions
1. Phillies GM Matt Klentak continues to shape his front office, with changes announced Monday.
2. The Indians made a change within their front office.
3. The Cardinals announced the signing of a reliever.
4. The Padres added a pitcher to their 40-man roster.
NL East
• Mets manager Terry Collins is at peace with his decision to leave in Matt Harvey during Game 5 of the World Series.
• Outfielder Ben Revere is not worried about his role with the Nationals, writes Stephen Whyno. Revere is looking forward to playing with Bryce Harper.
• For Kelly Johnson, the pull of the Braves remains strong.
NL West
• The Rockies are among the teams being considered by outfielder Gerardo Parra.
• The Diamondbacks' pitchers and catchers have a report date.
• Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu expects to be ready at the outset of the 2016 season.
• Houston Mitchell details the good moves made by the Dodgers' front office.
AL East
• Red Sox manager John Farrell visited with Hanley Ramirez.
• Former big leaguer Jason Varitek isn't sure if he wants to manage.
• There is no pressure on the Orioles' pitchers in the team's minicamp.
• The Orioles have interest in pitcher Gavin Floyd.
• Starlin Castro is the Yankees' Plan B at third base, writes Chad Jennings.
• The Drew Storen trade is a clear win for the Blue Jays, writes Cathal Kelly.
AL Central
• Pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Bruce Rondon lead the Tigers' watch list, writes George Sipple.
• As mentioned here a few days ago, Ryan Raburn is a possibility for the Tigers.
AL West
• Pitching prospect Luis Ortiz has had a slow and steady rise in the Rangers' organization.
Lastly
• More than 1,100 former and current minor league players signed on for a class-action lawsuit, writes Brian MacPherson.
• Cubs shortstop Addison Russell got married.
• Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield have been nominated for the Red Sox Hall of Fame.
• Former big leaguer Frank White was named a Jackson County executive.
• FanGraphs' Dave Cameron has an early look at the projected 2016 standings.
And today will be better than yesterday.