Royals $22 Million Free-Agent Acquisition Misses Spring Debut With Back Tightness

The Kansas City Royals have already had to wait a bit longer than they anticipated to see their new bullpen acquisition pitch in his new colors.

The Royals signed free-agent reliever Carlos Estévez to a two-year, $22 million contract at the end of January, coming off an excellent season in which the 32-year-old put up a 2.45 ERA split between the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies.

Estévez, who looks to be the front-runner for the closer role over incumbent Lucas Erceg, was supposed to make his Royals spring debut on Wednesday. But he didn't appear in the game, instead throwing a side bullpen session at the team's complex in Surprise, Ariz.

On Thursday, Estévez explained that lingering back tightness was the reason for his absence, but emphasized that he was still throwing and expected to make his game debut soon.

“That tightness was just not going away a few days ago,” Estévez said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “We came back, started using cleats, and we’ve got to walk a lot.

"I felt it and just thought it was normal, whatever, but then it got tighter on me, and I was like, ‘I need to go check this out,’ because it was getting tough to do everything. So they were like, ‘Just relax, let’s get you some treatment.’ I’m still playing catch.”

Royals manager Matt Quatraro also didn't seem overly concerned about Estévez's absence, telling Rogers he felt comfortable with the amount of build-up the righty would be have before the regular seson.

“We still have plenty of time to get him six or seven outings, whatever it is, later in camp,” Quatraro said. “We’re not really concerned with that at all.”

Hopefully, for the Royals' sake, Estévez's absence doesn't last more than a couple of days. But the most important thing is having him healthy for the bulk of the regular season, so it's smart to be cautious with him now while the games mean nothing.

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