Returning KC Royals starter could be surprise standout after missed season

As they worked hard last winter to improve their poor roster, the Kansas City Royals signed a 20-game winner they probably knew wouldn't throw a single pitch this season. Now, almost a year later, the Royals may be looking to Kyle Wright for an answer to the serious questions surrounding a starting rotation that was — other than the club's remarkable turnaround — the most striking surprise of the 2024 Kansas City campaign.

The weight will be much for Wright to bear, especially if Michael Wacha declines his player option, Brady Singer's inconsistency leads general manager J. J. Picollo to deal him away, and the fifth rotation spot puzzle remains unsolved.

But assuming a key role in manager Matt Quatraro's rotation is precisely why the Royals brought Wright to Kansas City.

A shoulder problem didn't keep the KC Royals from picking up Kyle Wright

Wright's right shoulder capsule issue was no secret when Picollo traded pitcher Jackson Kowar to the Atlanta Braves to get him last January. A resident of the Injured List for most of the 2023 season, Wright pitched only nine times for the Braves and gave up 26 runs (24 earned) in 31 innings. He underwent surgery in October.

But it was what Wright managed in 2022 that convinced the Royals to take a chance on him.

Wright, after all, accomplished that season what so few starting pitchers now achieve — the right-hander became a 20-game winner by going 21-5 to help the Braves win the National League East Division for the sixth straight time. Those 21 wins led the majors (Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was second with 18), his 3.19 ERA was the Atlanta rotation's second-best, he held opposing batters to a 1.16 WHIP, and he posted a 2.8 fWAR.

Impossible to argue with, then, is the notion that the 2022 version of Wright will resolve some of the pitching issues with which Picollo may be forced to grapple this winter.

Some may say, though, that Wright really hasn't proven himself and would rely on his questionable pre-2022 2-8, 6.56 ERA career record to prove their point. But Wright accumulated those numbers in just 21 appearances spread sporadically over parts of four seasons, making the bona fides he established in 2022 difficult to so summarily dismiss.

Time will tell just how good Wright can be for the Royals, but his shoulder is in good shape, and if he can even approach what he did for the Braves two seasons ago, the risk Picollo took last winter will pay huge dividends for a club aiming to achieve even more than it did this year.

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