KANSAS CITY -- The Royals are skipping Seth Lugo's turn in the rotation on Saturday as last season’s American League Cy Young Award runner-up deals with inflammation in his right middle finger.
Instead, Kansas City will “most likely” call up No. 5 prospect Noah Cameron to make his second big league start, manager Matt Quatraro announced prior to Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.
In Cameron’s Major League debut on April 30, he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, tossing 6 1/3 scoreless frames with three strikeouts.
It was an issue that popped up for Lugo in his previous outing on Sunday against the Red Sox, per Quatraro, when the 35-year-old right-hander threw six innings of three-run ball.
The hope for now is that Lugo will miss just one start -- similar to how Cameron filled in for Cole Ragans for a spot start -- with Cameron once again serving as valuable starting depth.
“That’s our hope,” Quatraro said when asked if Lugo will avoid time on the injured list. “We are in the very early stages of it, so we will see how he responds.”
Lugo has been one of the Royals’ most reliable starters since the club signed him to a two-year deal ahead of the 2024 season. Lugo, who had a 3.00 ERA in 33 starts (206 2/3 innings) last season, is off to a strong start again, with a 3.02 ERA in nine outings (56 2/3 frames) this year. He has gone at least six innings in seven of nine starts this season, including each of his past six starts, and he has only allowed more than three earned runs once this year.
Cameron has the ability to step in and give the Royals those much-needed innings, as he did in his debut -- and continued at Triple-A Omaha. The 25-year-old lefty has a 3.31 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings (seven starts) with the Storm Chasers this season. Cameron threw five innings of one-run ball in his most recent Triple-A start on Sunday.
Lugo’s skipped start comes on the heels of Friday’s roster move, as Kansas City placed reliever Taylor Clarke on the paternity list and returned Dairon Blanco from a rehab assignment at Triple-A. The Royals, now down a starter and a reliever, will need to make a roster move ahead of Cameron’s start on Saturday.
Blanco’s return gives the Royals another speed option off the bench, which has been missing since Tyler Tolbert (6-for-6 in stolen bases) was optioned to Triple-A on May 2 to make room for catcher Luke Maile while Salvador Perez took a few days off from catching to rest a sore left hip. Perez was back behind the plate on Friday against the Cardinals.
Another wrinkle pregame was Michael Massey starting in left field for the first time in his career. Massey, who has played exclusively at second base or as the designated hitter this season, took outfield reps in Spring Training, but the Royals had settled on Jonathan India splitting time between left field and third base as a corner outfield solution so far this season.
That changed on Sunday, when India got his first action at second base -- his primary position in Cincinnati -- before starting at second on Tuesday, which he did again on Friday. Kansas City acquired India in the offseason for Brady Singer to be its everyday leadoff hitter, but India’s defensive position has been less concrete.
The Royals now plan to give Maikel Garcia more consistent time at third base -- where he primarily played last season -- to give the infield more consistency. For Massey, he logged 29 innings (six games) in left field during the spring, and he has been getting outfield work in during the season.
“We are looking to get a little more stability for everybody,” Quatraro said. “We’ve asked India and Maikel to bounce around a good bit. Going back to last year, Massey’s comfort level of going out there [to the outfield], and then what we saw in Spring Training, we think that’s a good fit for us. Anytime we ask guys to move, we don’t take that lightly. We understand how selfless these guys are and that their ultimate goal is to win.”