The Royals announced today that right-hander Carlos Durán has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Fellow righty Lucas Erceg has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.
Erceg, 31, is optioned to the minors for the first time in his career. It’s not a shocking move right now but it’s one that would have been hard to fathom once upon a time, as he previously seemed cemented as a high-leverage guy in the Kansas City bullpen.
He was drafted by the Brewers as an infielder but didn’t cut it as a hitter, so he tried a move the mound in 2021. He walked a lot of guys but that was not too surprising for a guy in the infancy of his pitching journey. The results were encouraging enough that the Athletics came calling and acquired Erceg in a cash deal in May of 2023. Just over a year later, in July of 2024, he was flipped to the Royals for prospects Mason Barnett, Will Klein and Jared Dickey.
The reason the Royals were willing to surrender those young players is that Erceg seemed like a legit late bloomer. With the A’s in 2023, he had shown upper-90s velocity, which led to big strikeout and ground ball numbers. His 14.3% walk rate was awful but he got that under control the following year. Split between the A’s and Royals, he posted a 3.36 earned run average in 2024. His 28.5% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 46.5% ground ball rate were all above-average figures.
Last year, his strikeouts dipped but he added more grounders and still had a strong season on the whole. In his first full season in Kansas City, he tossed 61 1/3 innings with a 2.64 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 52.8% ground ball rate.
He came into this year as the top setup guy in front of closer Carlos Estévez but Estévez was injured in his first appearance of the season. Erceg was the natural choice to step into the closer’s role but he has had the worst season of his big league career thus far. Over 43 1/3 innings, Erceg has a 6.23 ERA. Some of that could be bad luck, as his batting average on balls in play and his strand rate are to the unfortunate side, but he is only punching out 14.9% of opponents while he is giving out free passes at a 13.9% clip.
Those struggles got Erceg bumped from the closer’s role and now he’s off the active roster. Ideally, a stint in the minors will help him get back on track . If not, it will leave the Royals with an awkward decision this winter. Erceg crossed three years of big league service time this year, meaning he has qualified for arbitration. Given his struggles, the club will have to decide if they want to tender him a contract. His poor numbers this year will hurt his earning power but he would be due at least a nominal raise. If they are willing to pay him, Erceg will still be optionable next season.
It’s been a tough season for the Royals and the struggles from the back of the bullpen have certainly played a part in that. Estévez is still on the IL and now Erceg is off the active roster. Guys like Alex Lange and Steven Cruz have been picking up saves lately. Lange has a 6.23 ERA on the year. Cruz has a 4.08 with good strikeout and walk numbers but struggles with the long ball.
Going into next year, the Royals need to address a lot of issues if they hope to return to contention. The offense has a collectie 94 wRC+, better than just four other big league teams. The rotation was supposed to be a strength but Kris Bubic is gone and many others have undergone significant surgeries, most notably Cole Ragans, who underwent UCL surgery in July.
In the bullpen, Estévez has a $13MM club option for next year that surely won’t be picked up, as the Royals will go for the $2MM buyout instead. In addition to addressing the lineup and rotation, bolstering the bullpen will also be on the to-do list, whether Erceg is still around or not.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene, Imagn Images
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