Lucas Erceg

Fantasy News

• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Notches save Sunday

  Rotowire Mar 29, 2026

  Erceg converted a save in Sunday's 4-1 win over Atlanta, striking out one batter while allowing a base hit over a scoreless inning. inducing a game-ending double play ball. Erceg was pitching on back-to-back days, but threw only 12 pitches on Saturday. Teammate Carlos Estevez blew the save Saturday in spectacular fashion and was unavailable to pitch due to an ankle injury, but he had diminished velocity throughout the spring, and manager Matt Quatraro suggested prior to Sunday's game that Estevez might be on shaky ground as the team's closer. After delivering a relatively stress-free save chance that culminated in a game-ending double play, Erceg is worthy of rostering on speculation in the event he ends up displacing the struggling Estevez in the ninth inning on a more permanent basis.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Scoreless frame in spring debut

  Rotowire Mar 4, 2026

  Erceg (shoulder) allowed no hits or walks across a scoreless inning in Tuesday's exhibition win over Team Cuba. He struck out one. Erceg made his first appearance of the spring and didn't show any lingering effects from the right shoulder impingement that ended his 2025 season early, an encouraging sign for his health moving forward. The right-hander posted a 2.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 22 holds across 61.1 innings last season, though a diminished 7.0 K/9 and elevated 3.49 FIP are worth noting. Erceg is expected to serve as the primary setup man to Carlos Estevez and could see opportunities in the ninth inning if Estevez falters.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Throwing off mound in Royals camp

  Rotowire Feb 19, 2026

  Erceg (shoulder) is throwing off the mound in Royals camp, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports. Erceg's 2025 season ended in mid-September due to a right shoulder impingement, but he doesn't seem to have any restrictions in the early stages of spring training. The reliever collected a 2.64 ERA and 22 holds last season but saw a year-over-year drop in strikeout rate from 28.5 percent to 19.3 percent. As long as he's healthy, Erceg should produce more swing and miss in 2026 and will serve as a setup man ahead of closer Carlos Estevez.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Aims for clearance to throw

  Rotowire Nov 3, 2025

  Erceg (shoulder) will undergo imaging Monday in hopes of being cleared to begin a throwing program, MLB.com reports. Erceg landed on the 15-day injured list in mid-September due to a right shoulder impingement. As long as scans Monday come back clean, the reliever should have a normal offseason. Erceg notched two saves and 22 holds for the Royals in 2025 and is slated to enter the 2026 campaign in a setup role.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Trending toward Wednesday return

  Rotowire Jun 10, 2025

  Manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday that Erceg (back) is expected to return from the injured list Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. A lower-back strain forced Erceg onto the injured list at the end of May, but after firing a shutout inning in a rehab game Sunday, the 30-year-old righty appears to be trending toward a minimum-length stay. Once healthy, he figures to slide right back into his usual role as Kansas City's primary setup man.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Rehab assignment looming

  Rotowire Jun 7, 2025

  Erceg (back) threw live batting practice Friday and is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Sunday, MLB.com reports. Erceg was placed on the injured list May 30, retroactive to May 27, making him eligible to return June 12 against the Yankees. Prior to hitting the shelf, the 30-year-old was in the midst of a strong season, recording a 1.96 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with 13 holds over 23 innings. Barring any setbacks during his rehab assignment, the right-hander should return to his setup role with the Royals in the near future.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Battling illness

  Rotowire May 28, 2025

  Erceg was unavailable for Wednesday's game against the Reds due to an illness, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. Erceg's illness helps explain why he hasn't pitched since Saturday, especially since the Royals led by only two runs entering the eighth inning of Wednesday's contest but turned to John Schreiber rather than Erceg. The 30-year-old righty will have an extra day to recover during Kansas City's day off Thursday and could be back in action for the start of the weekend series against Detroit.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Serves up two-run walk-off homer

  Rotowire May 24, 2025

  Erceg (1-1) took the loss in Friday's 3-1 loss to Minnesota after allowing two runs on two hits in the ninth inning. He struck out one. Although it was not a save situation in a tie game, Erceg gave up a pair of runs -- on a two-run walk-off homer by Ty France -- in his second straight outing. Because he had surrendered a lone run across his first 21 outings of the campaign, the hard-throwing right-hander still has a strong 2.05 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 17:3 K:BB through 23 appearances on the season despite his past two performances. Erceg entered Friday with an MLB-high 13 holds, and he should remain one of Kansas City's top setup men behind closer Carlos Estevez.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Notches first save

  Rotowire Apr 26, 2025

  Erceg pitched a perfect ninth inning while striking out one batter to collect his first save of the season in a 2-0 victory over Houston on Friday. The Royals turned to Erceg for the ninth inning after deploying primary closer Carlos Estevez twice in three days, and the former did not disappoint. With a 0.87 ERA and 0.39 WHIP through 10.1 innings this season, the 29-year-old Erceg remains one of the most reliable relievers in the league, and he could wrestle back the closer job from Estevez eventually.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: X-rays negative

  Rotowire Apr 18, 2025

  X-rays on Erceg's left foot came back negative after his removal from Friday's game against Detroit. Erceg wasn't able to walk off the field by himself after getting hit by a 109-mph comebacker in the seventh inning of Friday's contest, but it seems he escaped the incident with only a bruise. He can be considered day-to-day, though the Royals may stay away from using him out of the bullpen until his foot has time to recover.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Records third hold

  Rotowire Apr 7, 2025

  Erceg threw a perfect inning while striking out two Sunday against Baltimore to record his third hold of the season. Erceg has had a strong start to the season with 4.1 scoreless innings and a 3:0 K:BB. He's been working as the primary setup man to Carlos Estevez, though he could also get an occasional save chance.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Snags 14th save

  Rotowire Sep 26, 2024

  Erceg earned the save in Thursday's 7-4 win over the Nationals, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning. Erceg's now converted his last six save opportunities, allowing just one earned run while striking out 13 over 10.2 innings in that span. The 29-year-old right-hander's ERA is down to 3.36 with a 1.05 WHIP and 72:16 K:BB across 61.2 innings between the A's and Royals this season.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Secures save in extras

  Rotowire Sep 24, 2024

  Erceg picked up the save Tuesday against the Nationals, pitching a clean inning with two strikeouts. The Kansas City right-hander made quick work of Washington in the bottom of the tenth inning, firing nine strikes out of his 12 total pitches. Since joining the Royals on July 31, Erceg has been a stalwart, collecting nine saves while pitching to a 3.13 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 29:3 K:BB across 23 innings. Overall, he now sports a 3.47 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 70:16 K:BB with 12 saves over 59.2 total innings this season.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Takes extra-inning loss

  Rotowire Sep 18, 2024

  Erceg (2-6) allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk while striking out two over 1.2 innings, taking the extra-inning loss versus the Tigers on Tuesday. Erceg's six-inning scoreless streak came to an end as he faltered in the 10th inning after he kept the game tied in the ninth. He also ended August in rough form, but he's generally brought some stability to the Royals' bullpen since they acquired him from the Athletics. For the year, Erceg is at a 3.53 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 68:16 K:BB while earning 11 saves, 18 holds and five blown saves over 58.2 innings.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Secures save Sunday

  Rotowire Sep 8, 2024

  Erceg allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning while earning a save against the Twins on Sunday. Erceg worked around a leadoff single by Christian Vazquez to close out the 2-0 win. After blowing two straight save chances and allowing seven runs over three appearances, Erceg has now converted three consecutive saves. He's now 11 for 16 in save opportunities with a 3.67 ERA over 54 innings. Of those 11 saves, eight have come since his Royals debut July 31.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Perfect inning for 10th save

  Rotowire Sep 7, 2024

  Erceg struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Twins. Erceg was able to protect the two-run lead the Royals established in the eighth inning. It's his second clean outing in a row after he struggled in three straight appearances from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, including one outing which was cut short when he was hit on the hand by a batted ball. He's up to 10 saves -- including seven as a Royal -- while posting a 3.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 61:15 K:BB through 53 innings between Kansas City and Oakland this year.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Bounces back to notch save

  Rotowire Sep 5, 2024

  Erceg picked up a save against the Guardians on Wednesday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning. Erceg had a rough outing Tuesday, giving up three runs over two-thirds of an inning. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro went right back to the right-hander in a save situation one day later, and Erceg responded by retiring the side in order on 15 pitches. That bodes well for his chances of continuing as Kansas City's closer despite entering Wednesday amidst a rough stretch during which he went 0-2 with two blown saves while giving up seven runs across two innings over three appearances.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Struggles in return to mound

  Rotowire Sep 4, 2024

  Erceg (hand) allowed three runs on two hits and struck out two over two-thirds of an inning during Tuesday's 7-1 loss to the Guardians. Erceg loaded the bases with two singles and a hit batsman in the top of the eighth inning. James McArthur then walked in one run and gave up a two-run single to Steven Kwan, with all three runs going on Erceg's line. Erceg has been charged with seven runs across two innings over his last three appearances, a disappointing turn of events after his 15.1-inning scoreless streak from July 22 to Aug. 26. Overall, he has a 3.88 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 59:15 K:BB over 51 innings while logging eight saves and 18 holds between the Royals and the Athletics this year. Prior to his hand issue, Erceg had been operating as the Royals' closer, but if his performance continues to be poor, the job could be once again up for grabs.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Exits after comebacker

  Rotowire Aug 29, 2024

  Erceg exited Thursday's game against Houston after fielding a comebacker with his bare hand, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports. Erceg was attempting to field a groundball for a potential double play, but he was unable to catch the ball cleanly and injured his hand. The nature and severity of the issue are unclear, though his potential absence would reopen the closer role in Kansas City.

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• Royals' Lucas Erceg: Collects eighth save

  Rotowire Aug 27, 2024

  Erceg recorded his eighth save of the season in the first game of Monday's doubleheader sweep of the Guardians, walking one batter in a scoreless ninth inning. The right-hander got only seven of his 14 pitches over the plate, and Erceg got some help from his defense when Maikel Garcia made a leaping grab on a one-out David Fry liner that might have brought home the tying run. Erceg has converted all five of his save chances since joining the Royals, and he hasn't walked a batter since July 21, going 14.1 innings between free passes with a 0.00 ERA, 0.42 WHIP and 18 strikeouts.

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