The Kansas City Royals are back at Spring Training this week, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Surprise, AZ, on Wednesday. The rest of the Royals’ roster will report to Arizona on Presidents’ Day.
There’s a lot of excitement surrounding this Royals team heading into 2025. Last season, the Royals made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 and swept the Baltimore Orioles in two games in the AL wild-card series.
Kansas City’s success last season revolved around All-Star and AL MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr., and their starting rotation, which featured two AL Cy Young contenders in Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo. Manager Matt Quatraro will lean on Ragans, Lugo, and Michael Wacha to carry Kansas City’s starting rotation.
However, when it comes to the fifth spot in the Royals’ pitching staff, there’s a question mark surrounding the health of Alec Marsh. Marsh has experienced right shoulder tightness this season, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
#Royals starter Alec Marsh experienced right shoulder tightness this offseason. He’s back on track throwing every day but might be delayed slightly facing hitters, manager Matt Quatraro said. Taking it day by day.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) February 12, 2025
Rogers adds that Quatraro said the right-handed starter is back on track throwing every day but might be slightly delayed facing hitters.
This isn’t the news that Royals fans wanted to hear as Marsh is coming off an improved 2024 season. The 26-year-old pitcher had a 9-9 record and a 4.53 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). He also recorded 123 strikeouts but gave up 123 hits and 19 home runs in 129 innings pitched.
After struggling last season in June (5.68 ERA) and July (6.86), Marsh was terrific in September and October, sporting a 3.91 ERA across five starts. The right-handed pitcher held opponents to a .253 batting average – an improvement from June and July.
With Marsh working his way back from the shoulder tightness, this could open the door for Kris Bubic, Kyle Wright, or Daniel Lynch IV to take the lead in the fifth starter conversation.