In the final days of September, before the Royals’ offseason had even begun, general manager Dayton Moore leaned up against a dugout rail in Cleveland and identified a top priority for the winter.
The bullpen, Moore said, looking out toward the infield at Progressive Field, needed to be better.
It was easy to see why. After years of impenetrable relief work, the club’s bullpen took a step back in 2016, the result of two major injuries and a disappointing showing from free-agent acquisition Joakim Soria. But as the offseason pushes toward November, the restoration of the relief corps is still in its early stages.