How Royals pitcher James McArthur found a ‘sense of relief’ after tough MLB debut

Kansas City Royals reliever James McArthur needed a clean slate. His Major League Baseball debut did not go as planned.

McArthur made his debut on June 28 at Kauffman Stadium. He allowed seven earned runs against the Cleveland Guardians. He lasted one inning and posted a ghastly 63.00 ERA in the outing.

The Guardians made him pay. McArthur surrendered six extra-base hits including a two-run homer to Guardians catcher Bo Naylor.

It was McArthur’s first MLB relief appearance. And he was unsure if another opportunity would arrive in the foreseeable future.

“It’s tough at first,” McArthur said. “Obviously, it’s not a good outing and you don’t want your debut to be like that or really any of your outings. I talked with them about it and we kind of graded it out as an outing that could have gone a couple of different ways. So I tried to focus on the controllables and things I did well.”

The Royals optioned McArthur back to Triple-A Omaha two days later.

McArthur, 27, displayed all the physical tools. He stands 6-foot-7 and has impressive downward action on his pitches. His arsenal includes a curveball, sinker, slider and cutter. Last season, McArthur registered a 35.3% whiff rate with his curveball, per Baseball Savant.

The Royals recognized his upside. Earlier in the year, KC acquired McArthur from the Philadelphia Phillies in a midseason deal.

McArthur just had to realize his potential.

“Going back down to Triple-A, we talked about utilizing my slider a little bit more, especially to lefties,” McArthur said. “Just made some small little tweaks that ended up helping me out a lot in that last month.”

McArthur spent time with the Omaha Storm Chasers pitching coach Dane Johnson. The duo got to work refining McArthur’s mechanics. There was a concise plan to help McArthur showcase his strengths.

It started with McArthur’s positioning, moving further over on the mound, as he put it. The new starting point allowed him to generate more deceptive action on his pitches. In addition to refining his slider, McArthur developed a cutter that became effective.

“I was trying to really refine it and bring it in as a weapon and something I can break out,” McArthur said of his cutter. “Besides that, I was trying to create some efficiency in my delivery and hoping it would turn into a little bit of (velocity).”

McArthur also adjusted to relief work. It was a different venture considering he was a starting pitcher for most of his minor-league career.

The Phillies selected McArthur in the 12th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. In college, he started all three years at the University of Mississippi.

“It was a little bit of an adjustment for sure,” McArthur said. “Just because, you never know when you are going to go in. It kind of throws your routine out the window and changes it.”

McArthur relied on his veteran teammates. He leaned on former Royals pitcher Nick Wittgren to help guide him in the bullpen. Wittgren played a key role in helping McArthur figure out his daily routine and how to stay ready in game action.

“I just picked his brain a ton,” McArthur said. “He was a big help for me last year in just adapting into that role.”

McArthur made seven appearances for the Storm Chasers after his demotion. He recorded a 3.38 ERA in 13 ⅓ innings. He held opponents to a .152 batting average and struck out 16 batters.

The Royals recalled McArthur last August. He made his second relief appearance against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. He pitched two innings and allowed one run during his Aug. 6 outing.

McArthur showed improvement that afternoon. The Royals saw a difference in his delivery, his pitches and, mostly, his confidence.

“(He) really started to refine that breaking ball and that cutter,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s where the growth really came and the belief in himself.”

McArthur finally secured his bullpen spot in September. He was a part of the Royals call ups for the remainder of the 2023 season.

And he looked like a different pitcher.

McArthur pitched 16 ⅓ scoreless innings. He recorded 19 strikeouts and didn’t allow a walk in his final 12 games. The Royals inserted him into the closer role. He nailed down four saves and had some highlight moments down the stretch.

McArthur struck out Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez to clinch a Royals’ series victory. He shut down the New York Yankees across two innings to also help KC avoid setting a new franchise-record for most losses in a season.

“It kind of motivates you to understand that you belong here and can do this,” McArthur said.

McArthur reflected on his journey this spring. As he sat at his locker, McArthur took in his first big-league camp with the Royals. There were new faces in the clubhouse such as MLB veterans Will Smith, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.

There were Royals returnees Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Cole Ragans. All told, each player expressed desires to win this season.

“That’s what it’s all about. It’s about winning ball games,” McArthur said. “I think all of us as relievers understand that coming into the game, the goal is to shut it down. It’s to get a win and help the team in any way we can.”

McArthur admits he experienced an uneven first year. Now, he will be counted on to help the Royals chase the divisional crown.

“So, looking back on it, I felt there was a lot of growth for me personally,” McArthur said.

The Royals envision McArthur in a high-leverage role. He can work in the middle innings or be a setup man. There will also be opportunities to finish games.

Smith is slated to get the first opportunity as the Royals’ closer. However, McArthur proved he can also do the job and shine in the clutch moments.

“We’ve got a diversity of arms down there that we can put in certain situations,” Royals pitching coach Brian Sweeney said. “We want to put them in positions to succeed. That’s our job as a pitching team.”

McArthur thrived during his second-half resurgence. He finished with a 2.01 ERA down the stretch. He recorded 23 strikeouts and one walk during that span.

Now, McArthur hopes to pick up where he left off in 2024. And he will do it with a rekindled self-assurance.

“(I’m) not taking anything for granted,” McArthur said. “Every day coming in here trying to get better and build off that confidence.”