Kansas City Royals news: Should Seth Lugo throw more heaters?

Jaylon Thompson talks to Alec Marsh, who was placed on the 60-day Injured List, about his setbacks.

Marsh dealt with right-shoulder tightness after the 2024 season. He worked to rehab from that injury but suffered setbacks along the way. Ultimately, Marsh missed the entire 2025 season while dealing with constant physical discomfort.
“Just impossible,” Marsh said of the setbacks he encountered. “I think it’s a good word for it, because you never expect anything like that to happen. Especially when you feel like you start figuring out some things about your game. … Yeah, just not having a healthy camp and the thing just kept steam-rolling and going downhill all year.”

David Lesky reacts to Seth Lugo wanting to throw more fastballs.

I think Lugo knows a lot more about pitching than I do. He deserves the credit he gets for that. I might suggest that instead of throwing more fastballs. He should throw fewer off-speed pitches…or maybe focus on throwing them better. I think we can ignore his splitter since he threw so few and look at his changeup. He threw 227 of them, which was 9.5 percent of his total pitch mix. And he allowed a .297 line with a .563 slugging percentage on them. The changeup was very effective for him in 2024, but less so in 2023. I know the changeup sets up the fastball, but if that pitch is struggling the way it was in 2025, I’d almost scrap it entirely. I really like his splitter when he throws it, so maybe there’s the answer.

Craig Brown writes about what to look for in spring training.

So Erceg lost a tick off his fastball from 2025. Big deal you say! Except it was a big deal for the reliever. The heat Erceg brings sets up his other three pitches he will feature. All of them were negatively impacted in unique ways last season. The whiff rate on his sinker went from 21 percent in 2024 to 8.4 percent in 2025. Opponents went from slugging .140 against his slider to .407. The average exit velocity on his change was 82.5 mph in 2024 to 86.1 mph in 2025. In other words, the decline in four-seam velocity led to him being much less effective than he was in 2024.
Of course he wasn’t entirely healthy last year. He missed time in the middle of the season with a lower back strain and then ended the year with a shoulder impingement. A healthy—and feisty—Erceg would be one of the lynchpins in the back of the bullpen and could even see a handful of save opportunities.

Bradford Doolittle evaluates what each team didn’t do this offseason.

I’m of two minds about the Royals as spring training begins. On one hand, they look like a clear playoff contender. I love the run prevention across the board, though the depth behind the pitchers likely to be on the Opening Day roster means some health luck will be needed. The other mind is that I’m just not sold on the idea that Kansas City’s offseason moves made it any better.
I liked the additions of Matt Strahm and Alex Lange to what looks like a fully stocked bullpen. But I’m not sold on the offense being markedly different with Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas on board and Jonathan India coming back.
This puts a lot of pressure on Jac Caglianone to make significant improvement, which he is certainly capable of doing. Having Carter Jensen around for a full season will also help. Neither of those situations is related to offseason transactions. Ultimately, I fear that too much has been pinned on the effects of moving in the fences at the K. It will help hitters and hurt pitchers — that’s just physics. But the key is whether those effects shake out in the Royals’ favor. Of that, I will believe it when I see it, so Royals fans have to hope that the math behind this bold decision proves to be spot-on.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep considers whether the Royals should look at Nick Castellanos.

Jacob Milham at Kings of Kauffman considers a Kris Bubic contract extension.

Terrance Gore’s widow reveals he went for an appendectomy, but went into cardiac arrest afterwards.

The Cubs sign reliever Shelby Miller to a two-year contract.

The Brewers sign infielder Luis Rengifo.

Former Royals outfielder Nelson Velázquez could be a power source for the Cardinals this year.

Ben Clemens at Fangraphs looks at Boston’s offseason.

MLB is reportedly withholding revenue to teams in anticipation of a work stoppage.

Bad Bunny offered to pay for insurance for Puerto Rican ballplayers during the World Baseball Classic.

Feds say Emmanuel Clase participated in a rigged pitch scheme during a playoff game.

MLB is considering partnerships with prediction markets.

Teams are preparing for the new ABS challenge system coming to MLB games.