What might have been right-hander Seth Lugo’s final start as a member of the Kansas City Royals has turned into the beginning of an extended stay with the club.
Meanwhile, one of Atlanta’s recent acquisitions will try to help the Braves’ depleted rotation.
Fresh off of signing a contract extension, Lugo will try to help the host Royals even this series Tuesday night against right-hander Erick Fedde and Atlanta.
Lugo (7-5, 2.95 ERA) was the subject of consistent trade rumors as the deadline approaches on Thursday. Instead, the 35-year-old agreed to a two-year, $46 contract extension beyond this season, his second with the team.
“Seth made it very apparent that he wanted to be here,” said Royals executive vice president and general manager J.J. Picollo.
“I do feel very confident that we would have not found somebody that had a couple of years’ control, was a runner-up Cy Young Award winner, All-Star, Gold Glover. … I don’t think we’re finding that type of talent in the trade market.”
Lugo, a 16-game winner with the Royals in 2024, is coming off his 11th quality start of the season. On Wednesday, he allowed two runs, four hits and struck out six over six innings of an 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Now, he will pitch without a trade cloud overhead.
“Rumors that come up over the past month, I wanted to be here next year,” Lugo said. “We’ve got to show up every day, and it’s something we shouldn’t take lightly.”
Locking up Lugo was imperative after the Royals announced Monday that All-Star Kris Bubic will miss the rest of the season with a strained rotator cuff.
Lugo also will try to help Kansas City rebound after it tied a franchise record with 14 walks allowed in Monday’s 10-7 loss to the Braves, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Lugo has made 29 career appearances versus the Braves and is a stellar 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts against them.
Fedde (3-10, 5.22 ERA), meanwhile, was designated for assignment by the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday and traded to Atlanta on Sunday.
Though he allowed a whopping 26 runs, 33 hits — including eight homers — and walked 11 over 17 2/3 innings while going 0-4 in his last five starts with the Cardinals, he’s apparently a viable option for the Braves.
“I’ve had highs and lows in this game, and I’m just trying to be professional, show up every day and give it my best,” Fedde told MLB.com.
Fedde, however, was exceptional in his only two career starts versus Kansas City. Both coming last season with the Chicago White Sox, he yielded one run over 10 2/3 innings.
Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia is 0-for-3 versus Fedde. However, he’s batting .423 with five RBIs in the last seven games.
On Monday, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna each hit a two-run homer. Acuna is 6-for-12 versus Lugo, while Ozuna, the subject of trade rumors, is 1-for-11 with five strikeouts and five walks against him.
–Field Level Media
