Back from injured list, Royals reliever grateful for ‘good mental and physical reset’
Kansas City Royals reliever Taylor Clarke was reinstated from the 15-day injured list on Friday afternoon.
Clarke has been sidelined since Aug. 3 with right-elbow inflammation. He is posting a 5.87 ERA this season and has struggled with his command at times. In July, Clarke allowed 15 hits and 13 runs in 10 1/3 innings.
“I feel good and ready to go,” Clarke said. “I tried to take the couple weeks off as a good mental and physical reset to finish the year strong.”
Clarke also met with the Royals pitching staff. They worked on pitch sequencing and the mechanics of his delivery. Clarke said the extra work helped him understand areas where he could improve.
“It was nothing major, just little kinds of tweaks,” Clarke said. “It was more sequencing and where to throw my stuff. Just where it played best and focusing more on that.”
The Royals’ bullpen has struggled in recent games. KC leads Major League Baseball with 39 blown-lead losses.
Clarke has pitched in high-leverage roles this season. He could be utilized as the Royals try to figure out ways to navigate the eighth and ninth innings.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to secure outs late in the game,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Clarke has done that before. Hopefully, the 15 days did him well with the rest. I know he worked really hard to be in shape and ready to go when he came back. We are happy to have him back.”
The Royals optioned reliever Max Castillo to Triple-A Omaha. Castillo allowed two runs, three hits and three walks in two appearances against the Seattle Mariners.
KC began a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon.
This story was originally published August 18, 2023 at 1:04 PM.
