As Spring approached, it was widely known that the Kansas City Royals would be employing an “open competition” for their fifth starter role, but on Saturday, the pool of candidates became smaller.
Wade Davis is out of the fifth starter competition. He's moving to the back end of the bullpen.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) March 8, 2014
Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports that Royals manager Ned Yost has removed right-hander Wade Davis from the mix, and as such, Davis will be used out of the bullpen this season. Youngsters Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy are the remaining candidates vying for the open rotation spot, and Davis has a defined role on the back-end, especially in the wake of news that Luke Hochevar has been lost for the year.
In 2013, the 28-year-old Davis was far better out of the bullpen than he was in the rotation (where he had a 5.67 ERA), and going back to his time with the Tampa Bay Rays, the right-hander has proven to be a sometimes electric bullpen option. The Royals don’t have the shortage of pitching that has plagued them in the past anymore, and hopefully, Davis will be able to pick up where he left off from Tampa after this move to the ‘pen.