KC Royals News: Kyle Wright setback, Trevor Cahill comeback, struggles in perspective

It's July 1, which means the busiest month off the Major League Baseball season is upon us, and there's plenty of things for Kansas City Royals fans to be following.

Phase 2 of All-Star voting closes on Tuesday ahead of the midsummer classic on July 15, with hopes looking bleak for for the Royals' lone chance at having a starter. The MLB draft is just weeks away as well with Kansas City owning two selections within the opening round. And of course, this month means the height of trade season is upon us, as the Royals still have a decision to make on whether or not they will lean into their struggles and sell at the trade deadline or go all out and buy to try to right the ship and capitalize on their competitive window.

But amid all the chaos, there's some more under-the-radar headlines that Royals fans should be aware of.

KC Royals News: Kyle Wright now has a timeline for his latest setback

MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported over the weekend that Kyle Wright was scratched from his Friday start in Triple-A Omaha due to an oblique injury and would be receiving an MRI on Monday.

Well, results have come back and a more definitive scope and timeline have been established for the long-injured Wright. In a new report, MLB.com's Doug Miller states that Wright will be sidelined at least two weeks.

According to Miller's report, manager Matt Quatraro stated that Wright will be fully shut down for the time being.

"We'll reevaluate in two weeks," Quatraro said. "He might be able to do some stuff before that, but it'll be about two weeks until we reevaluate."

This isn't the first time the veteran right-hander has suffered a setback in 2025, as back at the beginning of May he was also shut down due to shoulder fatigue.

Wright has yet to pitch for Kansas City after being acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves back in November of 2023 fresh off Tommy John surgery.

KC Royals News: Former reliever Trevor Cahill returns to professional baseball

In one of the more bizarre headlines of the weekend, long-time MLB journeyman Trevor Cahill is back in professional baseball. The now 37-year-old right-hander resurfaced on Saturday with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the Atlantic League - a partner league of MLB.

In his Ghost Peppers debut on Sunday, Cahill threw an inning in relief, surrendering an earned run off two hits and a walk.

He last pitched pro in 2022 in the New York Mets system, throwing 19.1 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. His last major league experience came with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021, where he threw to a 6.57 ERA in 37.0 innings primarily as a starter.

His time in Kansas City was short-lived and pretty unremarkable, as in 23.0 innings across 10 appearances (three of which were starts), he threw to an inflated 8.22 ERA.

In his 13 year MLB career, he pitched for nine ballclubs posting a 4.26 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in the process, and was an All-Star with Oakland back in 2010.

KC Royals News: The struggle has been real for nearly two months

It's no secret that the Kansas City Royals have struggled mightily for awhile now, as their low-scoring offense has been their kryptonite and the primary reason as to why the Kansas City Royals now sit 5.5 games out of an American League Wild Card spot.

While the primary focus has been the Royals recent stretch of losing eight of their last nine games, the reality is, it's been a lot more than their recent skid that's been responsible for their freefall in the standings.

Since May 9, after an immaculate 16-2 run, the Royals have gone 15-30, which marks the third worst record in baseball in that span, only besting the Athletics (15-33) and the Colorado Rockies (13-33).

For additional context, on May 9 the Royals sat in the second AL Wild Card position, 3.5 games up on the Houston Astros for the final spot. Now, as already mentioned, they sit 5.5 games out of the final Wild Card position, holding the fourth worst record in the AL.