Royals notes: Lorenzen, Marsh, Harvey, McArthur

Michael Lorenzen will return from the 15-day injured list tomorrow. The Royals list him as the likely starter for the second game of their series at Washington. Kansas City must make an active roster change accordingly.

This is a crucial start for KC, which is fighting for a playoff spot. The Royals earned a narrow 1-0 win over the Nationals in overtime tonight, keeping them ahead of the Tigers in the tiebreaker and securing the AL’s second wild card spot. They are two games ahead of the Twins and 2.5 ahead of the Mariners.

Lorenzen has been out of action for over a month with a strained left hamstring. The right-hander, who was signed by the Rangers at the last minute, has an impressive 1.85 earned run average in 24 1/3 innings in his first five starts. That excellent run prevention came despite mediocre strikeout (17%) and walk (10%) rates. Lorenzen’s results have generally outperformed his peripherals in consecutive seasons. This year, he has a 3.43 ERA in 126 innings between Texas and KC.

Alec Marsh stepped back into the rotation while Lorenzen was on the bench. He pitched quite well, posting a 4.50 ERA and striking out more than 32% of opponents in four starts. Marsh is moving to the bullpen to free up a spot in the rotation, tweets Jaylon Thompson of the KC Star. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 4.65 ERA and a solid 23% strikeout rate in 25 appearances (24 starts) this year. He was off to a stellar start to the season before a horrific July prompted the Royals to send him down to Triple-A for the three weeks leading up to Lorenzen’s injury.

While Lorenzen’s return is a boost for the pitching staff, captain Matt Quatraro provided discouraging updates on two relievers this afternoon. The Royals have officially ruled out Hunter Harvey And James McArthur for the season, Quatraro said (X-Link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). Harvey has been out since mid-August with a back injury, while the Royals lost McArthur last week with an elbow sprain.

Quatraro said the Royals would send Harvey for a second opinion, which at least raises the question of whether he will need surgery. Injuries have been a recurring problem for the 29-year-old right-hander. Harvey underwent Tommy John surgery as a junior and has been sidelined for extended periods during his MLB career due to forearm, latissimus and elbow injuries.

Harvey can be a highly effective reliever at his best, as he showed with the Nationals between 2023 and 2024. Last season, he threw 60 2/3 innings with a 2.82 ERA. This season’s 4.20 mark over 45 frames was not as impressive, but Harvey struck out more than 26% of opponents with a swinging strike rate of 13.4%. The Royals saw him as a late-game weapon and sent the third baseman candidate Cayden Wallace plus the 39th pick in this summer’s draft to get him. They got basically nothing out of that deal, as Harvey allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings before being benched.

Kansas City controls Harvey through arbitration for another year. The Royals would offer him a contract if they expect him to return in early 2025, but a long-term injury could obviously change the calculation. He would be eligible for a small raise over this year’s $2.325 million.

McArthur was Kansas City’s closer for a while. He made 18 saves, but also blew seven leads. McArthur’s heavy reliance on ground balls without many misses is better in the middle innings than in the ninth. His year ends with an ERA of 4.92 after 56 2/3 innings. The Royals use deadline acquisitions Lucas Erceg as their closer while turning high-leverage innings to the converted starter Kris Bubic and left-handed Sam Long.