SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The last time Kyle Wright faced hitters, he was in a Braves uniform trying to get past an injury and make their postseason roster in early October 2023. It had been a rocky and injury-riddled year for him, and when the Braves informed him he wasn’t making the roster, he decided then was the time to have surgery to fix his right shoulder, which had been bothering him all year.
Seventeen months later, Wright stepped on the mound in Surprise Stadium, now a member of the Royals and finally facing hitters for the first time since before his surgery. The stands were empty aside from a few onlookers, and he only threw 24 pitches.
But the feeling for Wright was very, very good.
“I was definitely nervous again,” Wright said. “I had those pregame jitters, which I was pumped about. Usually the thoughts have just been, ‘Is my shoulder going to survive today?’ This time, it felt like I was getting ready to pitch in a game.”
Wright’s first four pitches were balls, and he acknowledged he was moving too fast, likely because of the adrenaline of what the moment meant.
“I couldn’t help it,” Wright said. “But that’s why you throw lives before you go into a game.”
Wright was also happy with his velocity, which he said was 92-93 mph. He expects it to keep building up as he gets into more lives and games. He could feel fatigue setting in by the end, not with the velocity, but by the way he was spraying his fastball.
“I was really happy with how the ball was coming out,” Wright said. “My goal for that first time was just to be at 91 mph and build it from there. To be 92-93 [during] the first one is really exciting.”
The Royals acquired Wright in November 2023, knowing he would miss all of 2024 after the shoulder surgery. He rehabbed the entire year in Kansas City and came into spring healthy and ready to ramp up, but then he sustained a mild right hamstring strain while throwing one of his first bullpens in February.
He slowed down his buildup, which might have helped his shoulder, too. Because of that, he won’t break camp with the team, likely staying in Arizona to get back into games and have his own Spring Training before he goes on a rehab assignment to an affiliate.
But by May, the Royals could be talking about adding Wright to their big league pitching staff. The role will be determined at the time, but this is what the Royals envisioned when they acquired the right-hander who led MLB in wins (21) in 2022 with a 3.19 ERA.
“He’s an elite pitcher in the league,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We know this is a long road back. But you got a guy like that, 20-game winner, all those kinds of things. The presence he has. The experience he has. It’s a huge wild card for us to be a big boost later.”
For now, Wright won’t get ahead of himself, taking his recovery one day at a time. He’ll throw a couple more live BPs before talking with the team about getting into a Minor League game in Arizona.
“Just happy to have someone with a pulse in the box,” Wright said. “Now it’s just all about recovery and doing it again and again and again.”
Marsh’s buildup
In a similar situation as Wright but a little farther ahead, righty Alec Marsh threw in his first game of the spring when he took the mound on Wednesday in a Minor League game up on the backfields of the Royals’ complex. He was delayed to begin the spring because of right shoulder soreness, but now he’s on his own Spring Training buildup.
On Wednesday, he exited in the second inning because of pitch count, but overall felt good. Marsh will likely stay back in Arizona when the team breaks camp to pitch in a few more Minor League games. Then he’ll head out on a rehab assignment to build up innings.
Quatraro said Marsh will be built up as a starter before he’s ready to join the big league club. That could be at the end of April, but the Royals won’t rush him back this early in the year.
“Now my spring starts,” Marsh said. “It takes longer than you always want. But at the end of the day, the goal is to continue to feel good and not have any setbacks. I think we’re on a really good track there.”
Anne Rogers covers the Royals for MLB.com.