Royals Veteran Will Be Major X-Factor For Playoff Push After Injury Return

What can KC expect from this righty?

Aug 16, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24) delivers a pitch against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Quietly, the Kansas City Royals brought back a key arm over the weekend.

Sadly, ace Cole Ragans is still on the injured list, and it's tough to determine how good his chances are at a return this year. But Michael Lorenzen was supposed to be a key piece of this rotation as well, and he made his first outing in six weeks over the weekend.

Facing the lowly Chicago White Sox on Saturday, Lorenzen tossed four shutout innings in a highly successful return from a left oblique strain. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to 4.43 -- not where he wants to be, but progressing in the right direction.

What Michael Lorenzen means to Royals

Jun 20, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen (24) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Lorenzen was on a pitch count, but he still wasn't particularly efficient on Saturday, tossing 82 pitches to get through four. And it was clear that bothered him a bit, even as the Royals picked up a win, their second in a three-game sweep of the White Sox.

“Happy with the win and happy to be back,” Lorenzen said, per Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. “Not too stoked about just going four innings. … You want to give the ‘pen some rest, so not happy about that side of things. But the win is really what matters.”

Lorenzen is going to have to give the Royals more length moving forward to help the team's playoff push. But what if he can give them a bit more than that?

After his outing, Lorenzen hinted that his rehab stint may have helped him unlock some things with his delivery that could make him a more effective pitcher the rest of the way.

“Mechanically, I figured out some stuff and cleaned out some bad habits that I had over those rehab outings, which was perfect,” Lorenzen said, per Thompson.

“I tried to fight to come back without any rehab outings. But I think they made the right move by having me make those outings just because of the bad habits that I built in to keep throwing and stuff like that. I got those all ironed out and I feel pretty confident about it.”

Lorenzen was great for the Royals in his last six weeks of the season after returning from the injured list last season. Can lightning strike twice?

If so, this injury-plagued rotation might have just gained a secret weapon.

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