An Early Look At The Royals Bullpen

Almost every team heads into a season with one or two bullpen positions up for grabs, and in the Royals case, that number is probably closer to four. The teams used a total of 19 relievers in 2010, and racked up the worst bullpen ERA in the American League last year. In short, the unit was a disaster.

Obviously the bullpen will be anchored by Joakim Soria who is one of baseballs five best - and probably it's most unheralded - closers. Setting him up will be Robinson Tejada, a solid if unspectacular middle reliever with swing and miss stuff and control issues. Also likely to be in the bullpen is Blake Wood who had a solid showing in his rookie campaign last year and profiles as a ground ball, pitch to contact middle reliever.