The Kansas City Royals placed right-handed reliever James McArthur (elbow) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a right-elbow sprain and recalled right-hander Steven Cruz from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. According to MLB's Anne Rogers, McArthur has a Grade 1 UCL sprain and will be shut down for the next five to seven days, but manager Matt Quatraro said the team is hopeful it's "not a season-ending injury." Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (hamstring) and left-hander William Smith (back) are both scheduled for live batting practice sessions on Saturday, provided they face no setbacks the next few days. The 27-year-old McArthur opened the year as the team's closer but was eventually demoted and had been working in middle relief. McArthur will miss the rest of the regular season, but the Royals hope he can return to help their bullpen if they make the postseason.

Kansas City Royals right-hander James McArthur (hand) left Monday's contest early with a trainer against the visiting Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium after his right hand was hit while covering first base on a Zach McKinstry single. McArthur stayed in the game for one more batter before he was replaced by Angel Zerpa in the seventh inning. The 27-year-old threw two-thirds of an inning, walking one and striking out one without allowing a run. McArthur began the year as the Royals' closer and has a career-high 18 saves in his second year in the league, but he's ended up in a middle-relief role and has a bloated 4.98 ERA (4.17 FIP) and 1.45 WHIP in his 56 relief innings in 2024. It's unclear how severe McArthur's hand injury is, but it didn't look that bad. For now, he'll be considered day-to-day until we know more.UPDATE: McArthur was diagnosed with right-elbow tightness.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur was called upon to hold a one-run lead versus the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. The right-hander tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 14th save of the season. McArthur has been a little shaky this season with a 4.41 ERA across 31 appearances. He's not an elite closer, but McArthur is the best option the Royals have at closer right now. Fantasy managers should expect McArthur to continue getting save chances going forward.

Kansas City Royals closer James McArthur earned his 13th save of the season in Monday's 4-1 win over the Marlins. McArthur came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three and turned in a 1-2-3 performance with a strikeout. The 27-year-old has earned the closer's role for a surprisingly solid Royals team, although his overall numbers haven't been great. He has blown four saves this season and has a 4.70 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and a 20.3% strikeout rate in 30 2/3 innings of work. His relative role security does provide fantasy value in deeper roto leagues, but his high ratio stats and low strikeout rate limit his overall fantasy upside.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur was called upon to hold a three-run lead versus the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The right-hander allowed a solo blast to cut the lead down to two runs. McArthur would retire the next three batters he faced to earn his ninth save of the season. The 27-year-old now holds a 4.42 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and an 18/3 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings. McArthur has converted nine of his 12 save chances this season. Despite some struggles, the Royals appear to be sticking with McArthur as the closer going forward.

Kansas City Royals closer James McArthur tallied his eighth save of the season in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, recording the final two outs of the contest. It was veteran Tyler Duffey who was called upon to protect a four-run lead in the ninth inning on Wednesday, but it became a save situation for McArthur after Duffey coughed up two runs. McArthur put out the fire via two groundouts. The big 27-year-old right-hander badly needed a bounce-back outing after giving up four runs with two blown saves over his past three innings, still carrying a mediocre 4.15 ERA and 1.38 WHIP while fanning 18 and walking only three across 17 1/3 frames on the campaign. McArthur remains the favorite for saves out of KC's bullpen, and he should be rostered in most competitive fantasy leagues.

Kansas City Royals closer James McArthur picked up his seventh save of the season in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Blue Jays. McArthur entered the game to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by three and shut the door with two pop-outs and a strikeout. The 27-year-old has provided plenty of fantasy value this season, converting all but one of his save opportunities with a 2.63 ERA, a 9.88 K/9 rate, and a 1.32 BB/9 rate. He should continue to serve as a reliable fantasy option if the Royals keep playing well.

Kansas City Royals closer James McArthur continued cementing his status atop the club's bullpen hierarchy in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, collecting his sixth save of the season after fanning two hitters in a clean ninth inning to preserve the victory. McArthur was summoned to sit down the lower part of Toronto's batting order and made the game a bit interesting by letting pinch-hitter Justin Turner reach on a single to get the tying run aboard, but he prevented things from getting out of hand. The big 27-year-old right-hander is starting to leave veteran William Smith in the dust when it comes to handling save opportunities for the Royals going forward, as he's now rattled off eight consecutive scoreless appearances while going 6-for-6 on save chances over his last 9 2/3 frames since April 5. There's no reason for McArthur to be on any fantasy waiver wires at this point.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur picked up his fifth save of the season in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. McArthur came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning up by one. He got the first out on a groundout, allowed a walk, and induced a double play to end the inning. He started the ninth inning with a groundout, allowed a single, and got consecutive ground-ball outs to end the game. The 27-year-old has emerged as a useful fantasy option on a surprisingly competitive team and has now converted all but one save opportunity with a 3.09 ERA, a 9.26 K/9 rate, and a 1.54 BB/9 rate.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur shut down the Chicago White Sox on Sunday to earn his second save in a 5-3 win. McArthur tossed a scoreless ninth, although he did allow a hit and a walk and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. McArthur now has two of the Royals' last three saves, but this is looking like a true committee situation after Chris Stratton got a save last night. Will Smith threw the eighth tonight, but he could also be in line for saves when the situation calls for a lefty. McArthur is probably the best option to roster in fantasy, but he should only be added in deeper leagues where saves are scarce.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur posted his first save of the season in Friday's 2-1 win over the division-rival Chicago White Sox, recording the final two outs of the game. After struggling incumbent closer Will Smith allowed a double and a walk to make things interesting, McArthur only needed two pitches to induce a double play and put out the ninth-inning fire. Although the save should get McArthur on most fantasy radars, he still has a poor 9.82 ERA and 1.91 WHIP with three punchouts in 3 2/3 frames to begin the year. Smith has been worse; the veteran holds an abysmal 18.00 ERA and 3.33 WHIP with three K's over his three innings of work for the Royals in 2024. KC's closing situation looks like a fluid one that could witness a form of hot-hand or matchup-based approach until one arm or the other pulls away in the competition, but McArthur is worth a speculative add.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur was called upon to hold a one-run lead versus the Houston Astros on Sunday. This was not an easy task, but McArthur was able to get the job done. McArthur allowed one hit, but was able to get out of the jam and record his third save of the season. The 26-year-old has quality pitches and could be a legitimate option as a long term closer. It wouldn't be shocking to see the Royals add some depth in the bullpen this offseason. However, McArthur should get a legitimate look as the full time closer next season.