Latest KC Royals injury blow threatens playoff chances, trade deadline inventory

With valuable starter Cole Ragans sidelined with a rotator cuff problem and their playoff hopes essentially reduced to a possible Wild Card berth, the Kansas City Royals can ill afford any bad pitching news. After all, it's the Royals' rotation and bullpen that have kept them anywhere close to contention this season.

Unfortunately, though, that dreaded bad pitching news is precisely what struck Kansas City Monday. Just days after he shut out Arizona for seven innings to earn his fifth victory of the season, Michael Lorenzen landed on the Injured List with what the Royals announced is a left oblique strain. The transfer, which is actually effective July 11, will require Lorenzen to stay on the IL for 15 days, but oblique issues tend to take longer than that to resolve.

How much time the right-hander will miss remains to be seen, but there's nothing positive about the effect Lorenzen missing starts can have on manager Matt Quatraro's rotation. Replacing him won't be easy.

The KC Royals will have a tough time replacing Michael Lorenzen

Losing a member of the rotation, which headed into this week's All-Star Break with the American League's second-best ERA at 3.49, won't be easy on the Royals. Reliever Daniel Lynch IV has starting experience, but he's on the IL with nerve irritation in his pitching elbow. Although Jonathan Bowlan has also started, he's now a reliever and may be available only as an opener, which could tax Quatraro's bullpen down the stretch.

And the Triple-A options aren't great by any means. Yes, the Royals have stockpiled Omaha's pitching staff with several major league veterans, but none seem ready to jump into Kansas City's rotation and dominate big league hitters — 45-year-old Rich Hill has won half of his eight starts, but his ERA is 5.63; John Gant's nine-start ERA is 5.75; and Dallas Keuchel has just four innings under his belt since signing last week. Thomas Hatch is 4-5 with a 4.14 ERA in 16 starts, but has been battered for eight runs once and seven runs once.

And Chandler Champlain, who's never pitched in the majors but is ranked as the organization's 20th-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, has an 8.64 ERA that proves he's simply not ready for the majors.

So, KC's starter pickings are thin. General manager J.J. Picollo could search the trade market for a starter, but that seems unlikely and unwise considering the club's overriding need for more offense. Expect the Royals to try and make do with internal rotation options.

Losing Michael Lorenzen may dilute the KC Royals' trade chip stack

At 5-8 with a 4.61 ERA, Lorenzen might not appear to be an incredibly attractive trade piece as the July 31 major league deal deadline looms larger every day. He's an established big league veteran, though, and performed admirably for the Royals after they picked him up in a trade deadline deal with Texas last year (2-0, 1.57 ERA in seven appearances until an injury forced him out of action). And he's struck out 12, walked only one, and been charged with only three runs in 11.2 innings this month.

All that means Lorenzen couldn't be summarily dismissed as a viable trade candidate, at least not until Monday's discouraging injury news. The Royals need another bat or two to fire up their offense, and sacrificing pitching is probably the only way to get it. Now, it seems Lorenzen won't be tradeable.

How Lorenzen's absence may affect Kansas City's playoff chances will be interesting to see.