KC Royals pitcher set to take another shot at rehab assignment

The Kansas City Royals entered their relationship with Kyle Wright with eyes wide open when they traded pitcher Jackson Kowar to the Atlanta Braves for him after the 2023 season ended. Shoulder issues sidelined the potential-packed right-hander for all but nine big league games and four minor league injury rehab assignment outings in 2023, then led to offseason corrective surgery. That he'd miss the entire 2024 season seemed probable, if not certain.

But for Kansas City, a club badly in need of good starting pitching after suffering a horrible 106-loss 2023 season, the risk Wright represented was worth taking — he'd gone 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 30 starts for the Braves in 2022, and the prospect of him returning to that form seemed to outweigh the disadvantages of not having him available for a year.

And after he did, indeed, spend all of the 2024 campaign recovering without throwing a major or minor league pitch, Wright appeared ready to return this season. Foreseeably cautious, the Royals kept Wright on the Injured List to begin this season, then dispatched him to Double-A Northwest for a rehab assignment in early May. He made a promising appearance for the Naturals on May 4, but the Royals called him back to Kansas City after he gave up four runs in two innings against Wichita five days later.

Now, it appears Wright is ready to go again ... and soon.

KC Royals send Kyle Wright back out on another rehab assignment

MLB.com Kansas City beat writer Anne Rogers recently reported Wright was "expected" to rejoin Northwest Arkansas Sunday. That's certainly good news for Wright and the Royals, especially after both have waited so long for his first appearance in a KC uniform.

When, though, will Wright take the mound again? Immediately, it turns out — he's scheduled to start Sunday night's Naturals' 6:35 p.m. home game against Arkansas. How long and how well he'll pitch remain to be seen, but just the fact that the Royals deem him ready to get back to live game action bodes well for his return to the majors.