Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg (back) is on track to rejoin the team on Wednesday, manager Matt Quatraro announced. Erceg has been on the 15-day injured list since May 27 with a low back strain, but he has been able to get through his rehab without incident. He threw a perfect inning for Triple-A Omaha on Sunday. The 30-year-old was a great source of holds before he landed on the shelf, picking up 13. He also pitched to an excellent 1.96 ERA (3.23 xERA) with 18:3 K:BB and a career-best 53.3% ground-ball rate over a 23-inning span.

The Kansas City Royals announced on Friday that they placed right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg (back) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to May 27) with a lower-back strain and reinstated right-hander Seth Lugo (finger) from the 15-day IL in a corresponding move. Erceg will head to the shelf after having not appeared since May 24. If the 30-year-old veteran is able to recover quickly, he could return to KC's bullpen as early as June 12. Although Erceg has only one save on the season, the former second-rounder has been the club's top late-inning setup man in front of closer Carlos Estevez, posting a sharp 1.96 ERA (3.42 FIP) and 0.74 WHIP with 18 strikeouts and only three walks in 23 innings of relief in his first full season with the Royals. In his absence, the Royals will lean more on Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber in setup roles.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg (foot) returned to action on Tuesday evening during their victory over the Colorado Rockies. Erceg logged a scoreless frame in the eighth inning. He did not allow a baserunner en route to picking up his seventh hold of the season. Erceg has been held out of action since last Friday after taking a comebacker on his left foot. However, the right-hander was able to avoid a lengthy absence. The 28-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign, operating as the setup man in Kansas City, logging eight 1/3 innings to the tune of a 1.08 ERA with a stellar 0.48 WHIP. During the stint, he has held a 5:1 K:BB and tallied seven holds. Given his role as the setup man, he carries high value in formats that reward holds. In addition, the Menlo product could eventually earn savings opportunities if Carlos Estevez were to struggle over an extended period.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg (foot) was removed from Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers. Erceg was helped off the field after getting hit on his left foot by a comebacker. It was an 109-mph line drive off the bat of Riley Greene. The expectation is that Erceg will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the injury. Fantasy managers will have to check back for another update. Hopefully Erceg doesn't miss much time as he's an important piece to this Royals bullpen.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg pitched a perfect eighth inning to help the Royals emerge from Thursday afternoon's matchup with Minnesota with a 3-2 victory. Erceg took over in the top of the eighth after the Royals rallied for two runs in the seventh to take the lead on a sacrifice fly from Bobby Witt Jr. Erceg made the narrow lead stand up by getting three straight groundouts and handing the lead over to Carlos Estevez to close it out. The hold was Erceg's fifth of the season, and the 29-year-old righty has given up just two hits and no runs in 6 1/3 innings across seven appearances this season, with a total of four strikeouts. He'll continue to be a high-leverage setup option for the Royals, who head to Cleveland on Friday to start a series against the Guardians.

According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Kansas City Royals will not have "defined" bullpen roles at the start of the season. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro noted that both Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg will have opportunities to close at the start of the season. Earlier this week, the Royals signed Estevez to a two-year contract worth $20.2 million. Last season, the 32-year-old tallied 26 saves with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP across 55 innings. Lucas Erceg operated as the closer down the stretch for Kansas City last season and tallied 14 saves with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. The 29-year-old struck out 72 batters across 61 2/3 innings of work. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor their progress during spring training. However, it seems the Royals may opt to use the "hot hand" in the ninth inning, which can hinder both of their fantasy outlooks for the upcoming season.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg (hand) is likely going to miss a few days after taking a comebacker off his right hand during Thursday's game. The right-hander is considered as day-to-day as he's still dealing with soreness and swelling in his hand. At least Erceg didn't suffer a serious injury and isn't expected to miss a lengthy amount of time. In the meantime, James McArthur will likely step into the closer role for the next few days. He could have some streaming appeal to fantasy managers in category leagues.

Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg (hand) was removed from his appearance early on Thursday against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park after taking a comebacker off his throwing hand. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (undisclosed) was actually injured on the same play during a collision at first base and was also pulled from the game. Erceg tried to field a comebacker with his bare hand on the play. The 29-year-old will surely undergo testing on his hand to determine the severity of the injury. He ended up allowing three earned runs on two hits while walking one in just one-third of an inning to get hit with a blown save (his fifth) and his fifth loss of the year. Coming into Thursday, Erceg had taken over closing duties in KC after being acquired from the A's in a deadline trade and had five saves with a 0.68 ERA in his 12 appearances. If he misses time, James McArthur is likely to get another shot in the closer's role.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Lucas Erceg continued his recent hot streak in Monday's Game 1 4-3 win over the Guardians, picking up his eighth save of the season. Erceg came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by one. He got the first out on a line-out, allowed a walk, and got the final two outs on a line-out and a pop-out. The 29-year-old has pitched well all season and has yet to allow a run since being traded to the Royals. Further, five of his last six appearances have been saves, suggesting that he is the Royals' bullpen arm to roster for fantasy managers down the stretch.

The Kansas City Royals are finalizing a deal to acquire right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg from the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, according to sources. It's unclear what the return is going to the A's in exchange for Erceg. The 29-year-old was stepping in for the A's as their primary closer with flamethrowing closer Mason Miller (finger) currently on the injured list, and it's unclear exactly how the Royals plan to use him as a high-leverage reliever. Erceg has secured the first three saves of his career in 2024 while also posting a 3.68 ERA (3.46 FIP) with a 1.20 WHIP, 41 strikeouts and 13 walks in 36 2/3 relief innings. Now that Erceg is gone in Oakland, Tyler Ferguson figures to jump into the primary closing role, at least until Miller returns. If James McArthur continues to struggle securing ballgames, there's a chance that Erceg is given an opportunity to close out games with his new team.

Oakland Athletics reliever Lucas Erceg (forearm) is going to be placed on the injured list with forearm tightness, according to manager Mark Kotsay. The official transaction has not occurred yet but Erceg was already sent back to Oakland for additional testing. The exact severity of the injury should be known in a couple days. It is a tough blow for the Athletics bullpen as Erceg has pitched great as a setup man in 2024. The 29-year-old posted a 2.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, two saves, eight holds and 27:8 K:BB across his first 22 innings this season. Austin Adams is the likely candidate to take over Erceg's duties in front of Mason Miller.