Lucas Erceg didn’t need a long look at the Kauffman Stadium scoreboard to know where things stood. The message was right there in front of him: L. Erceg - 6.23 ERA.
“Yeah, it sucks to look at,” Erceg exclusively told The Star recently. “But, I’m here to get three outs and that’s going to be my main goal.”
That blunt honesty has followed the Royals reliever through a rough stretch that finally pushed him to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday. Kansas City optioned the 31-year-old after he had given up five runs over his last five appearances, a skid that left him searching for answers and, in his own words, learning how to handle adversity better than he has before.
“It’s definitely weighed on me more than it has in the past,” Erceg said. “And like I said, that’s just learning to deal with adversity and becoming efficient at overcoming that adversity. That’s something I haven’t done well up until this point.”
The Royals see the move as a reset, not a goodbye. Manager Matt Quatraro said the club still believes in what Erceg can do when he’s right.
“’Reset’ is a good way to term it,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Tuesday. “You know, we have a lot of confidence in his ability to get really good hitters out.
We’ve seen him do it. It’s not that it’s a hope.
We’ve seen him execute it.
“And I think it’s building up a little confidence and getting him on a regular routine for a while so he can work on some things.”
Erceg had been a major piece of the bullpen, especially after All-Star closer Carlos Estévez landed on the injured list and he got the first crack at save chances. But the numbers in that role never cooperated. He carries a 6.63 ERA in save situations, and opponents have hit .297 against him.
Kansas City eventually turned to Alex Lange to close games, leaving Erceg in lower-leverage work - blowouts or games already tilted into multi-run deficits. Even then, the results never really stabilized.
“This is like the most extended period of time for me personally to go through a rough patch,” he said.
Through it all, he kept showing up, kept trying to be a good teammate and kept his pregame routine intact. But the frustration built anyway. Erceg admitted he started taking it all personally, upset that he wasn’t helping the team the way he wanted to.
“It’s not a good place to be like that,” Erceg said. “But that’s part of it.
You know, it sucks. But I feel like very seldom do players not go through that sort of thing.
The most important thing is how quickly you can bounce back.”
At first, he tried to shoulder it alone.
“You know, I kind of thought to myself, ‘I can dig myself out of this hole,’” he said. “And it doesn’t work that way.”
Eventually, he leaned on family, coaches and teammates, and one day he went to the staff looking for help getting back on track. The Royals pointed him toward a cutter, a pitch he has recently started throwing and one he believes can fit well with his four-seam fastball because it comes from a similar arm angle.
“It’s still a work in progress, but I’m feeling more and more comfortable with it every day,” he said. “And I’ve added it to the arsenal in-game.
We are just trying to fine-tune what the feeling out of the hand is. … For the most part, it’s been a decently good add to my arsenal.”
That development is part of the point of the Omaha assignment. The Royals want him building consistency, getting into a routine and expanding what he can throw. If that goes well, a return to Kansas City this season is still on the table.
“At the end of the day, this is our job and our livelihood,” he said. “The expectation is set this high and if you are not meeting those expectations, there’s plenty of other hungry young guys that are ready to take your spot.”
While Erceg headed to Nebraska, the Royals made a corresponding move by recalling right-hander Carlos Duran. Acquired in the Kris Bubic trade on Aug. 3, Duran was the central piece in the deal that sent Bubic to the two-time World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Extremely happy and excited to be here,” Duran said via an interpreter. “And I’m realizing my dream.”
Duran is known for attacking the strike zone, and Kansas City will give him a shot to prove he can stick in the bullpen. For Erceg, the task is simpler on paper and harder in practice: go to Triple-A, sort out the delivery, sort out the mind and get back to work.
“You’ve got to go out there and pitch like you deserve to be here,” he said.
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