Royals’ Daniel Lynch likely to start season on IL

Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch has a strain in his throwing shoulder and will be shut down for seven to 10 days, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. With Opening Day less than a week out, he’ll likely begin the year on the 15-day injured list.

Lynch suffered the injury in yesterday’s Spring Training outing against San Diego. Working in relief of Brady Singer, he logged 2 1/3 innings of four-run ball before departing with a trainer. Manager Matt Quatraro noted after the game he was headed for imaging after complaining of shoulder discomfort.

A brief shutdown period and potentially minor IL stint are far from the worst outcome that could come from a pitcher’s shoulder issue. Nevertheless, it’s a disappointing start to what could be a make-or-break year for the former #34 overall pick. Despite a top prospect pedigree built around mid-90s velocity and a slider that at times has looked like a plus offering, Lynch hasn’t yet established himself as an effective MLB starter. He took the ball 27 times last year and threw 131 2/3 innings but managed only a 5.13 ERA. That brought his career run prevention mark to 5.32 earned per nine in just under 200 frames.

The Royals overhauled their coaching staff this offseason. Quatraro was brought in from the Rays to replace Mike Matheny as manager. Brian Sweeney was hired by the Guardians to take Cal Eldred’s spot as pitching coach. The hope was that new voices could unlock better performances from the likes of Lynch, Kris Bubic and Carlos Hernández.

That might still prove to be the case, though Lynch’s development path will be on pause as he recovers from the shoulder issue. It also takes him out of the mix for a season-opening rotation job. Singer, Zack Greinke and Jordan Lyles are locked. A final couple of spots could go to Ryan Yarbrough and Brad Keller, each of whom has plenty of starting experience but has recently worked out of relief because of inconsistent production. Bubic, Max Castillo and Jonathan Heasley are among the depth options who occupy spots on the 40-man roster.