Santana tabbed for Sunday's spring opener

The Royals and Rangers will play a seven-inning game in the Cactus League opener for both teams Sunday at Surprise Stadium.

The Royals will start right-hander Ervin Santana, while the Rangers will counter with lefty Wes Benjamin. The list of Royals pitchers scheduled to throw also includes Kris Bubic, Wade Davis, and Scott Barlow, among others.

Santana, who did not pitch in 2020, signed a Minor League deal with the club in December and should be sharp. He posted a 2.61 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings, including five starts, for Tigres de Licey in the Dominican Republic during Winter League play. He has a chance to provide the club depth if he makes the team.

As for Bubic, the 23-year-old went 1-6 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 games last season for the Royals. He struck out 49 and walked 22 in 50 innings. He’s competing for the fifth spot in the rotation against a group of pitchers that includes prospects Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar.

“I am obviously grateful to be in the position that I was in [in 2020], but I definitely had some ups and downs throughout the year,” Bubic said. “I definitely learned a lot, and going into the offseason, my focus was just to be more consistent with everything. I think that's the biggest difference, and as anybody will tell you about the big league level versus any Minor League level, it is just the consistency of everything, not necessarily the talent level.”

The Royals will have to be judicious with how they distribute innings to pitchers in games this spring. Manager Mike Matheny has been open about his desire to play nine innings in each of his team’s Cactus League games, but it appears that he will not get his wish this time. On Friday, the Rangers said that they were considering using seven pitchers for one inning each for a seven-inning game.

Length of Cactus League games could vary this spring and it will force the Royals to be creative. If both managers do not agree to extend Sunday’s game to nine innings, Matheny said that the Royals might stay on the field at Surprise Stadium to simulate innings. The club is also considering strategies to get players extra work after road games if those games go less than the traditional nine.

“We've got guys that need to pitch. We've got players that are just doing anything to get some of those at-bats,” Matheny said. “So we're going to put a field together where it looks like a game -- and it's not really an inner-squad because we're just going to be bouncing players into the box, into defense, and then getting our pitchers their work on the mound.”

Per the 2021 Operations Manual, games from the start of Spring Training through March 13 will be scheduled as seven-inning games, though they can be shortened to five innings or lengthened to nine innings upon mutual agreement by both managers. From March 14 until the end of camp, games will be scheduled for nine innings, though managers can mutually decide to shorten to seven innings. Clubs must notify MLB of any game length modifications by 5 p.m. ET the day before the game, which in this case is Saturday.

“There's other teams with different perspectives, obviously, because they're trying to go a little slower at the beginning,” Matheny said.