Lucas

Erceg

Carlos Estévez was spared from making what would have been his fifth appearance in seven days. Erceg set up for Estévez on Tuesday and in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader, but he had shorter outings in both and some time off before that. He likely will be down tomorrow, but Estévez should be fine to go if there’s another save chance.

Erceg was removed from Friday’s relief appearance against the Tigers after being struck in the left foot by a 109-mph line drive. It looked really bad initially as he went down immediately and struggled to put weight on it. However, X-rays came back negative, and he was even able to play catch on Saturday, which means there’s a strong possibility he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list. He’s officially day-to-day with a left foot contusion.

Quatraro had no shortage of opportunities to mix and match last season, yet he always preferred having a closer, even when there was no one on the roster deserving of the title. Now that he has an $11 million-per-year reliever on the squad, we doubt he’s really going to change his stripes. Maybe this is somewhat good news for Lucas Erceg, but we’d still be surprised if Estévez doesn’t get all of the save chances he can handle in the early going.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand adds it’s a two-year, $20.2 million deal with a $13 million club option for 2027 that also includes a $2 million buyout. Estévez’s arrival certainly complicates matters from a fantasy standpoint as lefty Lucas Erceg was the presumptive favorite to close this season for Kansas City. The 32-year-old righty, who has recorded 57 saves combined over the past two seasons, is coming off the best season of his career last year when he posted a stellar 2.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 50/12 K/BB ratio across 55 innings (54 appearances) for the Angels and Phillies. He figures to be in the mix with the Royals for saves right away, which puts him squarely in the RP18-25 range.

Erceg was working with a three-run lead, so the solo shot leading off the ninth wasn’t particularly damaging. Erceg went on to give up a two-run single to Jon Berti, but he then got Gleyber Torres to ground out to end the game. The homer tonight was the first he’d allowed since June 12, when he was still with the A’s.

Erceg had two strikeouts including getting Heston Kjerstad swinging to end the game. He allowed three home runs in 61 appearances and had a 28 percent strikeout percentage and six percent walk percentage. Erceg, 29, is under team control through the 2029 season and looks like a top flight closer going forward.

Erceg breezed through the Washington lineup; needing only 11 pitches to pick up the save, and added a strikeout. The 29-year-old has been effective as the KC closer — for the most part, anyway — and he’s now up to 14 saves with a 3.36 ERA to pair with them.

If not for his freak-injury and subsequent implosion, Erceg could’ve gone down as one of the best second-half closer and trade deadline acquisitions in recent memory. He’s now up to 10 saves and six holds since joining the Royals and has all the makings of a lock-down closer moving forward.

Erceg retired the first batter of the 10th, but he then balked to advance the automatic runner to third and gave up a flare single to center. A second run scored with two outs after a walk and a line-drive single. With his pitch count up to 35, Erceg was pulled at that point. He might need Wednesday off after this, perhaps leading a save chance for John Schreiber.

Erceg has put his sore hand and cold stretch behind him in a big way with three saves during the Royals’ current four-game win streak. His slider looked incredible and he once again looks like one of the best closers to roster down the stretch.