The Royals have gotten off to a terrific start, but one glaring weakness has been the bullpen. They held their own in April, but since May 1 have an ERA of 5.52, second-worst in baseball. Overall, they currently have the lowest strikeout rate in baseball by a significant margin, and that cost them dearly in the Padres series when they gave up 11 hits in one inning at one point.
The Royals have a chance to upgrade their pen before the July 30 trade deadline, but expect a lot of competition as nearly every contender needs more bullpen depth.