The Royals placed right-hander Michael Wacha on the 15-day injured list earlier today due to what manager Matt Quatraro described to reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers) as a “small, non-displaced” fracture in his left foot.
Kansas City recalled left-hander Daniel Lynch IV to take Wacha’s place both on the active roster and in the starting rotation.
A timetable for Wacha’s return to action was not immediately available, as Quatraro indicated that it will primarily depend on when the soreness if Wacha’s foot subsides. Fortunately, Wacha will be able to stay somewhat active while he nurses his ailing foot, as Rogers adds that Wacha will play catch on his knee in order to keep his arm warmed up.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for the Royals, as the 32-year-old veteran has mostly looked good since signing with the club on a two-year, $32MM deal with the club back in December. While Wacha’s 4.24 ERA through 12 starts is actually slightly below the league average (97 ERA+), he’s posted solid peripheral numbers and been plagued by a below average strand rate of just 68.7%.
While Wacha’s 19.8% strikeout rate is slightly down from his solid season with the Padres last year, he’s walked just 7.1% of batters faced while limiting hard contact very effectively. Opposing hitters have barreled up just 4.8% of their batted balls against Wacha, and his 24.9% hard contact rate is by far the lowest of his career. All that has left Wacha with not only a solid 3.62 FIP but also a 3.54 xERA.
Fortunately for the Royals, they’ve received more than strong enough production from the rest of their rotation to manage without Wacha while he’s unavailable. The club’s starters have collectively posted a 3.13 ERA entering play today, good for third in the majors behind only the Yankees and Phillies. Veteran right-hander Seth Lugo has been a revelation for the club at the front of the rotation in his first year with the club, with an incredible 1.72 ERA and a 3.22 FIP in 78 1/3 innings of work. Meanwhile, lefty Cole Ragans has continued to build on his strong debut with the Royals last year in 2024 as the club’s #2 starter while right-hander Brady Singer has rebounded to the form he flashed in 2022 as the staff ace. Rounding out the club’s rotation mix is Alec Marsh, who has posted solid mid-to-back of the rotation results on par with those of Wacha.
Joining that quartet in Wacha’s place is Lynch, who the club selected 34th overall in the 2018 draft. Lynch was once a consensus top-30 prospect in the entire sport but has generally struggled in parts of three seasons at the big league level, with a career 5.18 ERA and 4.79 FIP in 51 starts entering this year. He’s made just three appearances at the big league level for the Royals this season, posting a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings of work.
Those strong results have come in spite of shaky peripherals; he’s struck out just 17.4% of batters faced in the majors this year while benefiting from a microscopic .152 BABIP. Nonetheless, he’ll attempt to keep that production going in the fifth starter spot for a Royals club that has enjoyed a surprisingly excellent season to this point as they’ve gone 35-25 to place themselves firmly in the second of three AL Wild Card spots, five games back of the Guardians for the AL Central lead.