It’s been a tremendous April for the Kansas City Royals, thanks in part to a pitcher that the New York Mets had no more time for.
The Kansas City Royals have been one of the best stories in MLB so far. After finishing with the second-worst record in the league next to “we’re not even trying to win anymore” Oakland Athletics, Missouri’s second team is making some serious noise this spring.
After finishing 31 games out of first place in the American League Central with a 56-106 record in 2023, the Kansas City Royals are 11-6 this year — just one-half game off the lead pace in the division entering Tuesday’s games.
Seth Lugo, cast-off from the Mets after seven seasons as a swingman on the team’s pitching staff, has had a lot to do with the Kansas City Royals’ sudden turnaround.
Lugo Starring for Kansas City Royals
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Some say that the Mets are simply jinxed. Admittedly, the team has had its share of bad luck that not even 1986 can make up for. Many MLB stars shine, then make their way to Citi Field and become shells of their former selves. Others struggle with the Mets, then go on to have tremendous careers elsewhere.
Lugo doesn’t really fit into either classification, though he may certainly be looking like one they let get away.
The nine-year big-league veteran is 3-0 with a MLB-leading 1.000 ERA in four starts this season with the Kansas City Royals. His latest gem was a four-hit masterpiece against the woebegone Chicago White Sox on Monday. He now has three of the 11 wins for the team during its sensational start to the season.
Mets loss is Kansas City Royals Gain
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Lugo is in his second season as a full-time starting pitcher after the Mets used him as a utility pitcher during his seven seasons in Queens. During his time in New York, the Mets moved Lugo around from starter, into long relief, short relief, even fill-in closer.
The Louisiana native fared well despite never finding stability on the Mets’ staff. In seven seasons, he posted a 32-24 record with a 3.48 ERA over 275 games. Still, in the team’s quest to break the MLB piggybank prior to a disastrous 2023 campaign, the Mets had no room for the likes of Lugo.
The San Diego Padres signed Lugo to a free-agent contract for 2023 along with a player option for 2024. A full-time starter for the first time ever, he went 8-7 with a 3.57 ERA in 26 starts during a turbulent Padres season.
He opted out of the second year of that contract last winter and signed with the Kansas City Royals for three years at $45 million, proving so far to be worth every penny.
With the Mets currently fielding a makeshift starting rotation of Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Butto, and Adrian Houser, New York must be kicking itself right about now.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur.
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