In a season full of downs and doubts about the future of the team, it seems the Kansas City Royals keep taking hits. Kansas City's ace Danny Duffy landed on the disabled list Monday with what doctors diagnosed as a Grade 1 oblique strain. The Kansas City Star's Rustin Dodd first reported the news.
Duffy seemed off in his last start on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians, his worst outing of the season. He only lasted four innings after he surrendered nine hits, three walks and six runs across that frame before he was eventually pulled. After four consecutive quality starts, that early outing certainly seemed off and now we have a much better understanding why.
Before Sunday's outing, Duffy held a 2.92 ERA, 3.37 FIP and 7.24 K/9 ratio across 10 starts. In a season full of disappointment and poor play for Kansas City, Duffy stood as the mark of consistency who produced and kept the team going when he took the mound. Now Kansas City will be without him for the next six-plus weeks, which could take them right into the start of July when hard decisions must be made by the front office about the team's future.
Kansas City hasn't yet announced who would take Duffy's place in the rotation, but the organization's lack of pitching depth likely keeps whoever they name from offering fantasy intrigue. The Royals era of winning is over and when Duffy returns, some of the teammates he played with on Sunday may no longer be in uniform.