Royals Starter May Not Be Ready For Playoffs, Status 'Up In The Air'
The Kansas City Royals have punched their ticket to October. After the Minnesota Twins fell 7-2 to the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, the Royals' journey to the postseason was complete.
The team will enter the postseason as a Wild Card team and will occupy one of the final two slots, depending on where they finish in relation to the Detroit Tigers, who are also playoff bound.
The Royals have been carried by the red-hot bat of Bobby Witt Jr. and a very strong starting rotation. However, there is one issue the Royals will be dealing with. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report notes that starter Michael Lorenzen's status for the playoffs is "up in the air."
Lorenzen was out for a month after suffering a hamstring strain but made his return on Wednesday night against the Washington Nationals. However, the veteran right-hander exited the game with lower body fatigue, so his status is uncertain.
The Royals acquired Lorenzen from the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline this year. Fortunately, the Royals have a strong starting rotation that features Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, and Brady Singer. Those are their likely postseason starters.
Still, having a veteran presence like Lorenzen who can start but also be used as a long relief option is beneficial, and if they don't have him for the playoffs, they will be missing a valuable presence.
They'll hope he's good to go for the Wild Card Series. We'll see how he recovers from his latest setback.
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Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.