When the Royals signed Michael Lorenzen during the offseason, there wasn’t nearly as much celebrating in Kansas City as there was when they signed Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, or Michael Wacha the second time. But there were some quiet nods of approval. Lorenzen, it was assumed, would be a more than adequate fifth-starter or swingman option for the Royals, able to pitch reasonably effective in the rotation with perhaps the ability to turn things up in the bullpen if young Royals starters like Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh proved capable of taking the next steps in their careers.
Unfortunately, Marsh was hurt before the season could even start and has faced numerous delays to his recovery since then.