Lucas Erceg took the next step toward rejoining a Royals bullpen that really needs its fireman reliever back by appearing in his first rehab game on Sunday night.
Erceg, who has been on the 15-day injured list since May 30 (retroactive to May 27) with a low back strain, threw a scoreless fifth inning for Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.
The righty needed just 12 pitches (seven strikes) to throw a perfect inning, recording a flyout to center field, a groundout in front of the plate and a groundout back to Erceg for the final out at first base.
Erceg threw all his pitches and was throwing in the upper-90s with his fastball and sinker, including a 98.1 mph fastball that Triple-A Iowa outfielder Owen Caissie fouled off. Erceg was around 89-90 mph with his changeup and 85 mph with his wipeout slider.
The Royals have all been optimistic that Erceg will be able to be activated once his 15-day minimum stay on the IL is up, which will be on Wednesday in the middle of their home series against the Yankees. As long as everything checks out following Sunday’s appearance and in the coming days, Erceg should be on track to come off the IL then, but more will be known after Monday’s team off-day in Kansas City.
Erceg, 30, has a 1.96 ERA this season, with 18 strikeouts and three walks in 23 innings (24 games). He’s been the Royals’ go-to reliever for their highest-leverage situations, typically in the eighth inning before they turn to Carlos Estévez in the ninth for the save opportunity. Twenty-one of Erceg’s 24 appearances have been scoreless this year.
Four of the five earned runs he’s allowed this year came in the week before he went on the IL, with two runs allowed in San Francisco on May 21 and two more in Minnesota on May 23. It was after he faced the Twins that weekend that Erceg fell ill, took a few days off of working out, then tweaked his back in the weight room getting back into his routine, he said the day he was placed on the IL.
The Royals’ bullpen ranks 11th in the Major Leagues this year with a 3.44 ERA, but since May 27, the unit has a 4.46 ERA. Getting Erceg back in his typical role and pitching healthy would help realign every other reliever back to their regular role and better position them for success.