Why Royals maintain confidence in closer Lucas Erceg despite his recent struggles
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- Royals bullpen carries a league-worst 5.22 ERA amid key reliever injuries.
- Erceg has blown five saves; in one game he allowed three earned runs without an out.
- Team and manager publicly reaffirm confidence in Erceg as the current closer.
The Kansas City Royals have a leaky bullpen. And it has become a consistent problem.
Chief among those concerns? Injuries. The Royals are missing high-leverage relievers Carlos Estévez, Matt Strahm and Nick Mears. All three were considered go-to contributors for the relief unit — Estévez is Kansas City’s usual closer.
In their absence, the Royals have been relying on such major-league veterans as Daniel Lynch IV, Alex Lange, John Schreiber and Lucas Erceg to pitch in relief. All four are either new to their role or not meeting expectations.
The Royals’ bullpen ERA is tied for worst in the league (5.22). They’ve made Erceg their closer, but he has already blown five save opportunities this year. And Saturday’s walkoff loss to the Rangers was especially disheartening.
The Royals had rallied back from an early 3-0 deficit and handed Erceg a 6-4 lead in the ninth. He allowed three earned runs to score before Kansas City could record an out.
The Royals’ 7-6 loss was their fifth in a row.
“I’ve been terrible lately and kind of just trying to search for some answers,” Erceg said. “But I’m going to go home and think about it. I’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
The Royals expressed confidence in Erceg in spite of his recent run of subpar performances. He hasn’t pitched a hitless appearance since May 14, but multiple teammates assured that he remains the right person to close out games at the moment.
The problem is that he isn’t getting people out with his high-velocity stuff and command. KC Star columnist Sam McDowell explored that topic last week, and Erceg admitted as much Saturday afternoon.
“The coaching staff gave me a sheet the other day that basically in black and white was saying that when I get behind 1-0, that hitters hit .300 (or something),” Erceg said. “And when I get ahead, they hit .100 (or something). So it’s pretty cut and dry what my No. 1 job is, and we’re not doing that right now.”
The Royals plan to stick with Erceg as their ninth-inning reliever. However, manager Matt Quatraro has noticed that the “swing-and-miss” has been absent from Erceg’s arsenal.
“He’s got good stuff, and we’ve seen him at his best with us,” Quatraro said. “And he’s a competitor, and that one (Saturday’s loss) really hurts.
“When you give him the ball, you like your chances. And the last game was a little odd. There were things that happened, you know, in the game against the (New York) Yankees. And this one, he was unable to put the guys away.”
Erceg’s season ERA now sits at 6.33 through 23 games. He has recorded 18 strikeouts and walked 13 batters in 21 1/3 innings. His strikeouts-per-nine of 7.59 is down significantly, and opponents have a .409 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) against him in 2026.
“It starts with me,” Erceg said. “You know, we got behind early, and we did a good job getting back the lead. I think six unanswered, and it’s up to me to close the door. And I didn’t do that.”
His battery-mate Saturday, catcher Carter Jensen, was among those supporting Erceg Saturday night.
“It sucks, but that’s the game,” Jensen said. “We still, as a team, we back Erceg. We know how good he is. You know, little rough stretch, everybody goes through it. And we’re confident he is going to be just fine.”
Veteran starter Michael Wacha will pitch Sunday’s series finale. If the game is close, Erceg could be called upon again.
He vowed to be ready.
“Ten out of 10,” Erceg said of his confidence level. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 8:48 PM.
