Last week was a week of nightmares for the Kansas City Royals when it came to injuries. While they welcomed back the likes of Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Steven Cruz off the IL, they sent Lucas Erceg, Ryan Bergert and Kyle Isbel to the shelf.
On top of that, they also ended the weekend off with the news that their newly extended front-end starter, Seth Lugo, would be shut down for the rest of the season.
Amid the revolving door of injuries and returns, some individual transactions and shuffles have gotten lost on the fold, with one in particular that could foreshadow a key offseason decision pertaining to impending free agent arm Michael Lorenzen.
Royals may have subtly revealed their offseason plan for Michael Lorenzen
Last week, after Cole Ragans made his long-awaited return to the rotation, it was Lorenzen that was on the chopping block and headed for the bullpen.
But after only a single bullpen appearance, Lorenzen found himself back in the starting staff after Ryan Bergert landed on the IL.
Still, despite remaining in the rotation heading into the final week, it seems as if it’s more out of necessity than it is by choice.
And after the season Lorenzen has had for the Royals, could you really blame them for making such a switch? In 26 outings (25 of which were starts) he’s throwing to just a 4.70 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and .267 BAA.
Now, the Royals are seemingly fond of Lorenzen having brought him back into the fold last winter after just half a season with team in 2024. However, despite being an experienced reliever in his day, their decision to move him to a relief role was telling.
Stephen Kolek was also available to shift out of the rotation and unlike Lorenzen, he had minor league options that could have made Ragans’ return a more straightforward one.
That being said, Kolek has looked outstanding since arriving at the trade deadline and with multiple years of control remaining the Royals obviously preferred to see what they have rather than give more innings to someone who’s not guaranteed to be back in 2026.
And while Lorenzen does have free will to decide his future as an unrestricted free agent, the fact of the matter is, Kansas City doesn’t seem like a viable destination for him anymore.
With Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek and Bailey Falter all on the books for 2026, along with promising prospects like Luinder Avila capable of starting as well, the Royals are flush with major league capable starting arms.
So, last week’s bullpen demotion for Lorenzen may not have been simply a short term fix for the Royals, but rather a glimpse into what life may look like without him in just a few short months.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
