"Gil Meche sent a tremor through the Royals' rotation Monday afternoon by revealing he exited his start against the Chicago White Sox after three innings because of ongoing shoulder stiffness.

The size of that tremor will be determined over the next several days.

"They've done all of the tests to check me out," Meche said. "The shoulder is strong, but the tightness is there. I just don't feel real loose when I'm pitching. I just have some shoulder stiffness. Nothing serious."

Monday's plans called for Meche to throw roughly 75 pitches over four or five innings. Instead, he headed for the clubhouse after the third inning following a brief conversation with pitching coach Bob McClure.

"Today, really, from the get-go, I never felt loose," Meche said. "I didn't have good feel. After the third (inning), I told Mac that, 'I don't feel I'm getting anywhere. I'm just going through the motions. Let's just shut it down and save it for later.' "

Shoulder and/or elbow stiffness is common for most pitchers in spring training, but Meche's situation raises a red flag because he didn't pitch last season after Aug. 29 because of a fatigued shoulder."