When Royals general manager Dayton Moore cobbled together his offseason wish list, the first item may as well have been listed in bold, uppercase font: Acquire help in the starting rotation. </p><p>But after getting left-hander Jonathan Sanchez in a trade and re-signing veteran lefty Bruce Chen, the Royals moved to another strategy Tuesday. </p><p>If you can&#x92;t totally reinforce your weaknesses, you might as well find ways to fortify your strengths.</p><p>That was part of the Royals&#x92; motive as the club agreed to terms on a one-year deal with former Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, pending a physical. The contract is believed to be worth $4 million with an added $1 million in incentives.</p><p>Broxton, Moore said, will be used in a setup role. And the hope is that the Royals can assemble a lights-out bullpen by adding another right-handed power arm to a young group that includes Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Tim Collins and potentially Aaron Crow. </p><p>&#x93;We felt it was important for us to be in a position to shorten games as best we can,&#x94; Moore said, &#x93;and rely on guys like Holland and Coleman and Collins, and Broxton now, in that seventh, eighth inning.&#x94;</p><p>Broxton, a 27-year-old right-hander, made the NL All-Star team as a closer in 2009 and 2010 but comes with question marks. He finished just 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA in 14 games last season while battling elbow problems. He was placed on the disabled list in early May because of bone spurs in his right elbow before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Sept. 19.</p><p>&#x93;You don&#x92;t know,&#x94; Moore said of Broxton&#x92;s health. &#x93;But our medical team feels like there&#x92;s no doubt in their mind that he&#x92;ll come back to his accustomed level. Obviously, he has to go out and perform.&#x94; </p><p>The need for a deep and dependable bullpen was increased by the expectation that more additions to the starting rotation may prove too pricey.</p><p>The Royals will still explore acquiring another starter via trade, Moore said, but he added that he&#x92;s comfortable with a rotation of Sanchez, Chen, right-handers Luke Hochevar and Felipe Paulino and left-hander Danny Duffy. </p><p>&#x93;The options (for free agents),&#x94; Moore said, &#x93;quite simply aren&#x92;t there based on our evaluation of what it&#x92;s going to cost and what it would make our roster look like financially over the next three to four years. It just doesn&#x92;t make sense for us right now.&#x94;</p><p>If nothing else, the addition of Broxton creates flexibility. Crow will be given an opportunity to win a spot in the starting rotation in spring training. Club officials, however, don&#x92;t view closer Joakim Soria as a candidate for the rotation.</p><p>&#x93;We&#x92;ve talked about it every year,&#x94; Moore said. &#x93;We feel like we have opportunities to fill our rotation right now within this organization, and we don&#x92;t have another guy like Joakim Soria in the back end.&#x94; </p><p>The move also requires the Royals clear space on their 40-man roster. Leading candidates to be removed include infielder Jeff Bianchi and center fielder Derrick Robinson. </p><p>But Tuesday was mostly about adding depth and flexibility to the bullpen. </p><p>And Broxton, who became the Dodgers&#x92; part-time closer in 2008 before moving into the full-time role in 2009, has experience as a setup man. He recorded 58 saves during 2009-10 while striking out 187 batters in 138 1/3 innings. He&#x92;s also had some notable postseason struggles, including a crucial home run surrendered to Philadelphia&#x92;s Matt Stairs during game four of the 2008 NLCS. </p><p>Of course, the Royals&#x92; bullpen is also suddenly very crowded. Likely locks include right-handers Soria, Broxton, Holland and Coleman. Crow could return if his rotation experiment doesn&#x92;t pan out. Right-hander Blake Wood and left-handers Collins and Everett Teaford logged significant time in 2011. Left-hander Aaron Laffey, acquired in October from the Yankees, is in line to get a look. And rookie right-hander Kelvin Herrera made his debut last September.</p><p>&#x93;You&#x92;ll look at Broxton,&#x94; Moore said, &#x93;you&#x92;ll look at Holland, you&#x92;ll look at Coleman and Collins and that group. And Crow if he&#x92;s not in the rotation. You&#x92;ll look at a corps that can be pretty formidable and can match up pretty good.&#x94;