The big news for the Kansas City Royals today and likely this week was the announced signing of former Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton to a one-year contract worth $4 million plus incentives. Yet as the Royals add another arm, the obvious questions surround about how it affects other pitchers. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says that the signing of Broxton doesn’t affect nearly as much as people might believe it does — especially when it comes to the Royals plans for Aaron Crow.
Broxton will be another experienced power arm in the pen, but it’s also clear the Royals need someone to make the jump, if possible, to the starting rotation. Aaron Crow has been discussed for that role and Mellinger is reporting that the Royals were going to do that anyway — whether or not the team had signed Broxton. Still the addition of Broxton definitely helps.
If Crow doesn’t work out, then the Royals still have a loaded pen with yet another arm to make the 7 through 9 innings that much more formidable if the Royals loaded line-up can earn the lead. While the rotation still needs a lot of work, things are definitely looking up in Kansas City.