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Kris Bubic entered the 2026 season as one of the Kansas City Royals’ most important arms. The 28-year-old left-hander earned his first All-Star selection in 2025, going 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA and 116 strikeouts over 116.1 innings across 20 starts before a strained left rotator cuff cut his season short in the second half.
Bubic opened this year by going 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA over nine starts and 50.1 innings, but left elbow soreness surfaced following his May 14 outing against the Chicago White Sox. Kansas City placed him on the 15-day injured list on May 18, retroactive to May 15, and he has not pitched in a big league game since.
His rehab has not gone smoothly. Making his first rehab start for Triple-A Omaha on June 9, Bubic lasted just 1.1 innings against Las Vegas, allowing eight hits and five earned runs, and shoulder discomfort after the outing sent him back to Kansas City (via KCTV5’s Gabe Swartz).
Bubic returned to the mound on June 24, throwing a scoreless inning on eight pitches for Omaha and appearing close to rejoining the Royals’ rotation. But on Wednesday, his path back hit another snag.
Bubic was scratched from Wednesday evening’s scheduled rehab start because of a shoulder problem and is headed back to Kansas City for further evaluation, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported. Royals senior vice president Scott Sharp disclosed the scratch earlier in the day on Sports Radio 810 WHB, and the club later transferred the left-hander to the 60-day injured list.
The shoulder is the same area that cut short Bubic’s first rehab attempt. When the discomfort initially surfaced in mid-June, Royals manager Matt Quatraro laid out the club’s plan (via MLB.com’s Drew Davison).
“His forearm feels good,” Quatraro said then. “His shoulder didn’t respond as well to the previous start. He’s going to see a doctor sometime this weekend and we’ll know more at that point.”
While the 60-day designation reads as a discouraging development, the transfer itself is procedural. A 60-day clock runs from a player’s original injured list placement, meaning Bubic remains eligible to return as soon as July 15, and the move created a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Jose Cuas.
Cuas was selected from Omaha as part of a series of corresponding moves Wednesday, with Kansas City also bringing up right-hander Randy Dobnak and optioning Eric Cerantola to Triple-A, while right-hander Connor Seabold, nursing a strained right lat, landed on the 15-day injured list.
The rotation was already shorthanded, with Cole Ragans, the club’s Opening Day starter, sidelined by an elbow problem of his own that has him occupying a 60-day injured list spot as well. Ragans was set to undergo elbow surgery on Wednesday, with the extent of the repair and his recovery timeline to be determined during the procedure. The Royals are 35-52, in last place in the AL Central and 11 games behind the first-place White Sox.
Kansas City hosts the Tampa Bay Rays in Thursday’s series finale at Kauffman Stadium, and the club anticipates having a clearer picture of where Bubic stands at that time.
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Bubic opened this year by going 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA over nine starts and 50.1 innings, but left elbow soreness surfaced following his May 14 outing against the Chicago White Sox. Kansas City placed him on the 15-day injured list on May 18, retroactive to May 15, and he has not pitched in a big league game since.
His rehab has not gone smoothly. Making his first rehab start for Triple-A Omaha on June 9, Bubic lasted just 1.1 innings against Las Vegas, allowing eight hits and five earned runs, and shoulder discomfort after the outing sent him back to Kansas City (via KCTV5’s Gabe Swartz).
Bubic returned to the mound on June 24, throwing a scoreless inning on eight pitches for Omaha and appearing close to rejoining the Royals’ rotation. But on Wednesday, his path back hit another snag.
Bubic was scratched from Wednesday evening’s scheduled rehab start because of a shoulder problem and is headed back to Kansas City for further evaluation, MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported. Royals senior vice president Scott Sharp disclosed the scratch earlier in the day on Sports Radio 810 WHB, and the club later transferred the left-hander to the 60-day injured list.
The shoulder is the same area that cut short Bubic’s first rehab attempt. When the discomfort initially surfaced in mid-June, Royals manager Matt Quatraro laid out the club’s plan (via MLB.com’s Drew Davison).
“His forearm feels good,” Quatraro said then. “His shoulder didn’t respond as well to the previous start. He’s going to see a doctor sometime this weekend and we’ll know more at that point.”
While the 60-day designation reads as a discouraging development, the transfer itself is procedural. A 60-day clock runs from a player’s original injured list placement, meaning Bubic remains eligible to return as soon as July 15, and the move created a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Jose Cuas.
Cuas was selected from Omaha as part of a series of corresponding moves Wednesday, with Kansas City also bringing up right-hander Randy Dobnak and optioning Eric Cerantola to Triple-A, while right-hander Connor Seabold, nursing a strained right lat, landed on the 15-day injured list.
The rotation was already shorthanded, with Cole Ragans, the club’s Opening Day starter, sidelined by an elbow problem of his own that has him occupying a 60-day injured list spot as well. Ragans was set to undergo elbow surgery on Wednesday, with the extent of the repair and his recovery timeline to be determined during the procedure. The Royals are 35-52, in last place in the AL Central and 11 games behind the first-place White Sox.
Kansas City hosts the Tampa Bay Rays in Thursday’s series finale at Kauffman Stadium, and the club anticipates having a clearer picture of where Bubic stands at that time.
Continue reading...
