Royals pitcher Seth Lugo goes on 15-day IL with lower back tightness amid playoff race

The Kansas City Royals’ path to the 2025 postseason may have hit a snag with starting pitcher Seth Lugo going on the 15-day injured list with lower back tightness.

Lugo was scheduled to start on Thursday versus the Los Angeles Angels. Noah Cameron (7-6, 2.92 ERA) will get the nod in his place.

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Going into Thursday’s MLB schedule, the Royals (70-69) are 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the American League’s third wild-card playoff spot. (The Texas Rangers are ahead of Kansas City by one game at 72-69.)

Lugo, 35, has a 4.15 ERA in 26 starts for the Royals this season, striking out 125 batters in 154 1/3 innings. He’s been Kansas City’s second-most reliable starter behind Michael Wacha in 2025. However, Lugo has struggled in the second half of the season, posting a 7.51 ERA in nine starts (and 9.11 ERA in his six appearances during August).

Last season, Lugo finished as the runner-up in AL Cy Young Award voting after compiling a 3.00 ERA and 16-9 record in 33 starts. He threw 206 2/3 innings, striking out 181 batters. The Royals signed Lugo to a two-year, $46 million extension at the end of July after he was a rumored midseason trade candidate.

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Stephen Kolek was called back up from Triple-A Omaha to take Lugo’s spot on the active roster, the team announced. The second-year right-hander was acquired by Kansas City at the trade deadline from the San Diego Padres.

In his lone appearance for the Royals earlier this season, Kolek allowed one run and four hits over six innings in a 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. At Omaha, he registered a 6.63 ERA in five starts with 20 strikeouts in 19 innings. With the Padres, Kolek had a 4.52 ERA in 14 starts with a strikeout rate of 6.3 batters per nine innings.