Lynch takes lessons of fatherhood into bid for roster spot

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Daniel Lynch IV thinks he might have had the best offseason ever.

In no small part because of the newest Lynch family member, 1-month-old Lainey, who already made an appearance on the Royals¡¯ back fields of their Spring Training complex to watch her dad pitch. (OK, maybe she was napping, but we¡¯ll give her a pass.)

The baseball part of Lynch¡¯s offseason was not too shabby, either, as the Royals lefty tried to focus on everything that went well in 2024. From a 3.54 ERA across 21 starts with Triple-A Omaha, to carving out a role in the big league bullpen and tossing 20 1/3 scoreless innings down the stretch, Lynch had a pretty transformative year waiting for an opportunity, and then finally doing something with it late in the year on a winning team.

¡°That is by far the most I¡¯ve ever felt like I was a part of something,¡± Lynch said. ¡°Something really good. Even though I wasn¡¯t pitching the eighth or ninth inning, that game where I threw three innings or the games I threw back to back, I still took that as I¡¯m being depended on.

¡°I think it was really good for me. To step up. Step out of your own head. Just show up for the team.¡±

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There are quite a few parallels there to becoming a first-time dad, as Lynch realized mid-conversation.

¡°You find yourself thinking of yourself a lot less,¡± Lynch said. ¡°Which I think is good for everyone. When you¡¯re young and just married, it¡¯s easy to be in your own world, but [now], my purpose is solely based on somebody else. And I think just coming home no matter what happens, she¡¯s there.¡±

Perspective helps anyone, and Lynch has a lot of it this spring as he competes for a job on the Major League roster. He¡¯s being built up as a starter and will start the Royals¡¯ Cactus League opener on Friday against the Rangers. He¡¯s scheduled to throw two innings at Surprise Stadium.

Lynch is part of the mix competing for Kansas City¡¯s fifth rotation spot. The field has narrowed some with Alec Marsh dealing with right shoulder soreness. Marsh is scheduled to throw his first official bullpen session of camp later this week, putting him behind the other pitchers building up and leading to questions of whether he¡¯ll be fully built up by the end of spring. Kris Bubic and Kyle Wright are also both in the rotation mix. Noah Cameron (the Royals¡¯ No. 12 prospect in 2024), who is also scheduled to pitch in Friday¡¯s spring opener, is part of the next tier of starters, but he should make his big league debut sometime this season.

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After the Royals decide who wins the fifth starter spot, they have to decide where the pitchers who didn¡¯t win fit best, whether that¡¯s in Triple-A as starting depth or in the bullpen as long relief.

There¡¯s value in both. Bubic and Lynch specifically showed they can contribute as relievers last year.

¡°We¡¯re going to keep building [Lynch] up,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°We have to be ready for that. He¡¯s in the mix to have a spot in the rotation. That being said, there¡¯s also opportunity in the bullpen. He¡¯s going to have to be patient and see how things play out, and that¡¯s how we¡¯re approaching this as well.¡±

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If you ask Lynch, he really doesn¡¯t care what his role is -- which is perhaps a different answer than he¡¯s had in years past.

He just wants to make the team.

¡°I really feel like I¡¯m not thinking about my place on the team and my role,¡± Lynch said. ¡°I¡¯m just like, ¡®How do I go and just be a really good big leaguer?¡¯ Whether that¡¯s a starter or reliever. That changes a lot, being on a good team.¡±

Lynch¡¯s success at the end of last season led him to a throwing program this offseason that built on what he was doing well rather than add anything different. For the first time maybe in his career, he did not work on any sort of pitch design. Instead, his focus was on efficiency in his delivery and with his command.

¡°The idea is that the more you do something, the better you¡¯re going to get at it,¡± Lynch said. ¡°But if you¡¯re not doing the same thing all the time, if you keep constantly changing ideas, it¡¯s going to be really hard to get down to what you¡¯re actually doing.¡±

Already, that conviction has shown up this spring and is what Lynch hopes to bring into games starting Friday. What comes next is to be determined.