'Nothing but love': Wacha motivated to deliver for fans

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- After Michael Wacha signed his new three-year deal with the Royals shortly after the World Series ended last year, the support began pouring in, from his former and current teammates to the fans around Kansas City.

“It was nothing but love,” Wacha said. “A ton of support from the Kansas City fan base, and we felt it. My family and I really enjoyed last year being with the guys in here, but also getting to be in that community in Kansas City was amazing and a lot of fun for us.”

Now Wacha is more motivated than ever to give back to the fans with his performance on the field and help get the Royals to the postseason again this season. The veteran righty posted a 3.35 ERA in 2024 and threw 166 2/3 innings across 29 starts as a key piece of the rotation, the club’s biggest strength last year.

Wacha is tinkering with his pitches and potentially adding a new look to his repertoire, although he kept the details quiet when talking with reporters Friday.

“I guess we’ll see in about a month and a half,” Wacha said, hinting toward Opening Day.

But one thing Wacha did share had to do with his slider, which he’s continuing to refine. Wacha introduced it early in the 2024 season but then lost the feel for it and ditched it later on when he wasn’t getting good results. He has been tweaking the grip and mentality with it and would like to bring it back consistently this season.

“When it was good, and I was throwing it to certain batters, getting that success, it was really good,” Wacha said. “And the numbers prove you can have success with that pitch and everything plays off it. So [I’m] looking forward to getting that dialed in for this season, for sure.”

Bullpen momentum?
The Royals’ bullpen sure had its ups and downs throughout 2024, but the way it ended the season is how it would like ‘25 to start. The unit posted a 2.41 ERA in the final month of the regular season, and it helped Kansas City win games in which little offense was to be found.

A lot of the success had to do with acquiring Lucas Erceg, who jumped right into the closer’s role after the Royals acquired him from the A’s on July 30 and posted a 2.88 ERA with Kansas City. The Royals have now added to the back of the bullpen by bringing in All-Star reliever Carlos Estévez, and they are hopeful for a healthy Hunter Harvey, too.

“You look at their track record -- they’re strike throwers, they’ve pitched in high leverage,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “When you add those guys to Erceg, [Angel] Zerpa, Sam Long, the guys we used last year in high leverage, we have a really nice, deep group of guys in there that we’re really confident in.”

That confidence is felt by the players already in spring.

“We did a lot of good things in that last month and those playoff series,” Long said. “To build on that, confidence-wise and with the pieces that we added, we’re excited to see how it plays out. It’s another good group that’s going to be hanging out down there.”

There will be competition for the remaining spots in the bullpen, even with Erceg, Estévez, Harvey and Chris Stratton locks to be on the Opening Day roster. Long, Zerpa and John Schreiber are also expected to make the team. Carlos Hernández, Steven Cruz, Evan Sisk and any of the starters who don’t make the rotation could also be part of the mix.

Royals rumblings

• Catcher Blake Mitchell, the Royals’ No. 2 prospect, is participating in his first big league camp, but he was finally able to get on the field Friday in a normal capacity after he got his tonsils removed in late January. He had to ease into workouts the first couple of days in camp, but he was able to participate in all the work by Friday.
• Estévez threw his first official bullpen session with the Royals on Friday, sporting his new number: 53.
• Saturday will be a busy day around Royals camp with nine pitchers scheduled for live BPs, including Cole Ragans’ first official live session this spring. Pitching prospects Ben Kudrna (No. 3) and Steven Zobac (No. 17) will be taking the mound for the first live sessions of their first big league camp. Sunday will be just as busy with eight pitchers throwing live BP. Daniel Lynch IV, No. 12 prospect Noah Cameron, Chandler Champlain (No. 16) and Austin Cox are all scheduled for two innings.