The Kansas City Royals spent big in the offseason to acquire Michael Wacha, but a scrimmage incident could cause him to miss the start of the season.
The team confirmed that Wacha will have an X-ray of the middle finger of his pitching hand after he got hit during the final inning of spring training last Sunday.
The Royals signed the starting pitcher last December to a one-year contract with a player option in 2025. The deal is worth $32 million, with the other half to be earned by 2025.
The Royals are racing against time to prepare him for MLB Opening Day this week, but manager Matt Quatraro is not that worried.
"We think he's going to be fine," he told reporters.
"We're going to set up a test and X-ray and hope to know more tomorrow."
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The Royals were the second-worst team last season, just six wins above the Oakland Athletics.
They have been hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and Michael Wacha's contract is one major step they have taken to solidify their chances.
Wacha is known for his changeup pitching and is relied on by the Royals for his low walk rate-just 6 percent in 2022 and 7.8 percent in 2023.
The pitcher situation in Royals
The Royals revamped their roster, and Wacha is regarded as the club's new leader.
The 2013 NCLS MVP is bullish that the team is on the right path.
"Seeing the young core that's been coming up shows a lot of great potential," Wacha said.
"And then after getting on the phone with [general manager] J.J. [Picollo] and discussing the type of vision that he sees here, what he's trying to build here, seeing those moves coming in... [there's] a lot of excitement."
Kansas City hopes his injury will not be too severe, as they already have Michael Massey on the injured list.
As for the pitching situation, the rotation is already set.
Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, and returnee Brady Singer will lead the team, while Alec Marsh and Angel Zerpa earned the final two spots in the starting rotation.
Zerpa will operate in the bullpen, according to Quatraro.
Marsh earned the final spot after his excellent showing during the spring training.
He started the 2023 season with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas and then with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.
He was promoted to the majors mid-season and ended the season with a 3-9 record and 5.69 ERA with 85 strikeouts across 74+1⁄3 innings pitch.
The 25-year-old is ready to take any role for the team as the newcomer among the pitchers.
"I want to do whatever I can to help the team," Marsh said earlier this spring.
"At the end of the day, the only stat that I care about is if the team wins or not. So any role that I'm gonna be put in, that's gonna help the team, is what I want to do."
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