Lugo’s Fastball Could Be Key to ’26 Success

By Anne Rogers, MLB.com

KANSAS CITY — Seth Lugo’s 2025 season was a roller coaster. There were high points, including the month of June, when he posted a 1.26 ERA over five starts. His two-year contract extension that he signed in July, effectively ending any rumors for that upcoming Trade Deadline.

The low points included two separate injured list stints and an August that really didn’t look like what the Royals were used to seeing out of Lugo, who posted a 9.11 ERA that month and then ended up on the IL on Sept. 4 through the end of the season.

In 2026, he’s eyeing the consistency that he pitched with in ’24, when he posted a 3.00 ERA across 206 2/3 innings en route to a runner-up American League Cy Young Award finish.

Read the rest of the story at MLB.com/Royals.