Lucas

Erceg

Erceg gave up a single with one out, committed an error on a pickoff throw and then walked back-to-back batters before giving up an RBI groundout to tie the game. He escaped without further damage, and the Royals won in the bottom of the ninth, with Carlos Estévez picking up the victory, so it’s not too bad of a blemish for Erceg. He has little chance of overtaking Estévez anytime soon, but there is the chance the Royals could trade Estévez later this month, making Erceg their closer.

Erceg missed just a minimum stint on the injured list while recovering from back inflammation. He should return to a high-leverage arm in the Kansas City bullpen.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters Erceg will likely be back for Wednesday’s game after looking sharp on Sunday in a scoreless relief outing for Triple-A Omaha. The 30-year-old righty hit the injured list back on May 30 with a lower back sprain. His return will provide a lift to Kansas City’s high-leverage mix.

Erceg has been unavailable for the past couple of days, and the Royals won’t place short-handed. He’ll be out of commission until June, and in the meantime the Royals will have Seth Lugo (finger) back in the rotation.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to closer Carlos Estévez for a four-out save on Wednesday night after John Schreiber got in trouble in the eighth inning with Erceg feeling under the weather. The 30-year-old lefty should be available again at some point in the coming days once he’s feeling better.

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.