Kansas City Royals’ rotation takes a hit, with two starters placed on injured list
The Royals’ rotation, one of the biggest reasons for their struggles this season, lost two starters on Tuesday as left-hander Danny Duffy and righty Brady Singer were placed on the injured list.
Relief pitcher Tyler Zuber and infielder Ryan McBroom were recalled from Triple-A Omaha to replace the duo ahead of Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee.
The Royals’ starting staff, which has the second-worst ERA in Major League Baseball — 5.47 — includes just two active pitchers with at least 10 starts this season: Mike Minor and Brad Keller.
Royals manager Mike Matheny said the team is still figuring out who will fill out the rotation, but said Carlos Hernandez and Kris Bubic warrant a shot at starting.
“It’s just a matter of when we put them in is something still we’re considering,” Matheny said.
Bubic, a left-hander, has started eight games for the Royals. Hernandez has a 2.31 ERA in his last five appearances and started Sunday against Baltimore.
Duffy has been a relative bright spot this season with a 4-3 record, 2.51 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 61 innings. But he was put on the shelf for the second time this year because of a left flexor strain. He missed five weeks in May and June with the same issue and upon his return was expected to make shorter starts while also pitching in relief on his scheduled offday to throw.
But Matheny called on Duffy just once out of the bullpen. Duffy threw just 54 pitches in four innings during his last start, Friday, against the Orioles. This stint on the IL is retroactive to July 17, but Matheny was asked if this is a season-ending injury for Duffy.
“It’s still too early. I think there are still options for how they are potentially going to attack this from the medical side and I don’t think anything has been decided on yet,” Matheny said.
Singer was placed on the injured list, retroactive to July 18, with right shoulder fatigue. He has made 19 starts and has a 3-7 record with a 5.13 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings.
The Orioles roughed up Singer in his last start on Saturday. He allowed seven runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout in two innings.
“Just watching his last start (we) knew he was struggling, had a little bit of the dead arm and he’s been fighting through some things here for a while, which is normal,” Matheny said. “But we knew at some point we were going to have to take a break with our young pitchers, for sure.
“And instead of limiting them from the beginning, kind of let’s go, let’s pitch, let’s just see how they feel, and if at any point we need to take a pause, we do it. And this isn’t necessarily a shutdown as much as let’s just make sure that he’s feeling how he should be feeling and watch closely, use the medical team, use sports science, and figure out when it would be best to get him back in there.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Kansas City Royals’ rotation takes a hit, with two starters placed on injured list."
