Royals Get Positive Injury Update On 26-Year-Old Pitcher In Competition For Rotation
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As the Kansas City Royals attempt to determine who the best fifth starter will be for their 2025 rotation, they need everyone as healthy as possible.
Early in spring training, Kansas City wasn't faring well in that regard. Alec Marsh had offseason shoulder soreness that prevented him from starting on schedule, while Kyle Wright suffered a mild hamstring strain that has delayed him from getting on a mound.
Both of those two were expected to compete with Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV, and Noah Cameron for the fifth and final spot in the Opening Day rotation. So it's fortunate that one of them is finally able to throw bullpens again.
On Monday, Marsh, the 26-year-old righty who held the fifth starter role for most of the 2024 season, threw a 25-pitch bullpen, a positive sign that he should be ready for game action soon enough.
"That was pretty much my first bullpen of the year," Marsh said Monday, per Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. "I touched the mound once before I got shut down, so I wouldn’t even count that as a bullpen. That was the first time I had gotten off the mound since last year."
"For me, it’s about just getting back as soon as I can and being as healthy as I can. And today exceeded everyone’s expectations, even my own. Stuff looked better than it did when I was healthy, so that is really cool."
Marsh, 26, put up a 4.53 ERA in 26 appearances (25 starts). He was briefly demoted to Triple-A, but returned when Kansas City dealt with some rotation injuries during the second half of the season.
Bubic, who may be the front-runner ahead of Marsh for the rotation spot, was only able to pitch out of the bullpen in 2024 after recovering from elbow surgery. Now, the lefty is the only contender with significant past rotation experience who is currently on schedule.
The Royals need someone to step up, and if Marsh carries over the positive momentum he claims to have built from that initial bullpen session, there's still time for him to win himself a job.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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