Erceg prepared for fireman role, no matter the inning

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- A few days before the Royals all convened at Royals Rally earlier this month, Lucas Erceg received a call from general manager J.J. Picollo and manager Matt Quatraro.

They wanted to give Erceg a heads up that they were signing reliever Carlos Estévez, a closer and former All-Star who would likely be joining Erceg at the back of the Royals’ bullpen in 2025. And they wanted to reassure Erceg that it didn’t mean he would suddenly lose his role as a late-inning reliever in Kansas City.

Erceg wasn’t expecting a courtesy call like that.

“That creates the culture, that creates the foundation,” Erceg said. “That’s pure class from the Royals as an organization.”

And he emphasized with the Royals then, and continues to now, that he doesn’t mind what role he’s in; he just wants to pitch meaningful innings. That’s what the Royals plan on having the 29-year-old righty do again this year, deploying him in the biggest spots in the highest of leverage.

That might be in the ninth inning for save opportunities, or it might come in the seventh or eighth. Having Estévez helps Quatraro be able to do that.

“I don’t really care what my role is going to be,” Erceg said. “I’ve been telling all my friends and family, there’s nothing quite like that feeling -- you can’t even put it into words -- of what the postseason is like. But I want to experience it again, for sure.”

Pitching in October only added motivation for Erceg to build upon the stellar second half he had with the Royals after they acquired him from the A’s at the Trade Deadline last year. The Royals threw him right into the fire as their closer and he responded by throwing fire -- a power arm who could be relied on in big situations and important games.

Erceg made his spring debut Wednesday, throwing the eighth inning in the Royals’ 7-6 loss to the Rockies at Surprise Stadium. He allowed a run, a walk and wild pitch, but the velocity was there, topping out at 98.1 mph, and he threw his sinker, slider and changeup. He got hit on the right foot by a comebacker but said he was “all good” afterward.

This is really the first camp in which he’s hadn’t had to compete for a spot, allowing him to take more time in the early part of camp like most established relievers do before getting into games.

Erceg posted a 3.36 ERA last season with the A’s and Royals but a 2.88 ERA with Kansas City, striking out 31 batters in 25 innings. In October, he allowed two runs in six innings, pitching in five out of the six games the Royals played. It was the most innings he’s ever thrown in a season (61 2/3) and the longest season he’s ever played.

And right after it ended, he and his wife moved into their new house in Phoenix. It wasn’t until two or three weeks later that Erceg was able to reflect on everything that happened in 2024, from the trade to emerging as a bona fide high-leverage reliever that the Royals view as a big part of their future -- to even being a homeowner.

“There was a certain point where I just hit auto-pilot,” Erceg said. “Finally, I was having coffee in my backyard, just reminiscing on what I went through. I was just in game mode, tunnel vision in terms of wanting to win and keep moving forward. And then I was able to settle down and look back. And it was really, really cool.”

Erceg’s main focus this spring is fine-tuning his arsenal, specifically with four-seam fastballs up in the zone. He doesn’t want his fastballs to land in the middle of the plate, especially with two strikes, even though he can sometimes get away with it because of his 99-100 mph heater.

In 2024, 47.9% of Erceg’s two-strike four-seamers were at the top edge of the zone or higher; 52.1% were in the heart of the zone or lower.

“When I started pitching, it was all about pounding the zone and limiting the walks,” Erceg, a former hitter, said. “Now that I’ve kind of found consistency with that, it’s time to start fine-tuning elements of execution I wasn’t so good at last year. That includes the four-seam up. … More times than not, I missed more over the plate and down, rather than miss above the strike zone. That kind of got me into trouble, [and it] allowed hitters to damage that pitch a little bit.

“That’s been the main goal, besides just throwing my slider for a strike, getting ahead of batters. And being a dog on the mound.”