This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

KANSAS CITY -- Last week was busy for executive vice president/general manager J.J. Picollo and the Royals' front office.

They traded outfielder Michael A. Taylor to the Twins, then shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to the Red Sox. At the end of the week, they officially signed reliever Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal.

All three of the moves had a theme: adding pitching to the organization. For Taylor, Kansas City acquired two Minor League relievers in Steven Cruz and Evan Sisk, the latter of whom will likely see time in the Royals' bullpen this season. Reliever Josh Taylor came over from Boston in the Mondesi trade. And Chapman is a bounce-back candidate in the Royals' bullpen.

Adding pitching was a clear goal for the Royals this offseason, first with starters. They signed Ryan Yarbrough to a one-year deal in December to fill a swingman role, followed by inking starter Jordan Lyles to a two-year deal later in the month.

“Working with [manager Matt Quatraro] for the last couple months, we’re on the same page that you can’t have enough pitching,” Picollo said. “We want as much depth as we can [get]. We want to have the ability to have a flexible roster, which we believe we still can maintain that.”

By adding more arms, the Royals will be able to maximize their 40-man roster throughout the season, utilizing player options to create a staff best-suited based on the opponent.

“It does give Q and Brian Sweeney a lot of options, and it gives us a chance to map out and strategize and plan when we go to play whoever it may be -- let’s put the best matchups together that we can and put our roster together week to week,” Picollo said. “You do have the option rule we [have] to deal with, but it is going to give us an opportunity to plan ahead and try to prepare a little bit better and match up better.”

It also creates a lot of competition for bullpen spots this spring. Picollo emphasized the Royals didn’t assure the closer role to Chapman, but if he returns to form, he’ll get the opportunity. That would take some of the workload off Scott Barlow, who has been the Royals' best reliever over the last two years. Dylan Coleman, Carlos Hernández, Josh Staumont and Taylor Clarke could all compete for high-leverage spots in the ‘pen this season. Collin Snider, Anthony Misiewicz, Richard Lovelady, Amir Garrett and Jose Cuas will all get an opportunity, too. 

Plus, the Royals are open to having some of their young starters pitch in relief if they don’t make the rotation. Kris Bubic, Jonathan Heasley, Max Castillo and Brad Keller could all be options here.

The Royals have a plethora of arms heading into 2023 based on their offseason moves. Who emerges from that group as the arms the Royals can count on remains to be seen, but making sure they have options in the bullpen was a priority this winter.

“Our young starting pitchers, at some point they’re going to get on track, and when they have leads after five and six innings, we need to have guys who can hold that lead and finish off games,” Picollo said. “It was moving from the front end, adding a starter, and Yarbrough who can start, and now looking at the back end so we can have a complete pitching staff.”