The Kansas City Royals’ closer, Carlos Estévez, left his first rehab outing Wednesday because of shoulder discomfort. The right-hander faced just three batters for Triple-A Omaha before exiting after talking with a trainer.
Estévez landed on the 15-day injured list April 1 with a left foot contusion following a rough season debut. In his first appearance of the season, he recorded a blown save after allowing six runs against the Atlanta Braves, capped by a walk-off grand slam.
It has been a rough start to the season for Estévez, dating back to spring training before he hit the injured list.
Early struggles continue to pile up for Carlos Estévez
Following a highly successful 2025 season in which Estévez led MLB in saves and earned his second career All-Star selection, Kansas City hoped to see that same version of him entering 2026.
Estévez was slow to ramp up during spring training, as his velocity was significantly down. He struggled to reach 90-91 mph during camp after averaging 95.9 mph last season.
A slow start for the 33-year-old was not uncommon, as he has dealt with that in the past. But once his first outing of the season arrived, it quickly became clear this situation was different. His velocity remained down, and control issues also surfaced, leading to the six-run outing.
Since then, Estévez has spent the past month rehabbing in hopes of not only recovering from the left foot contusion, but also regaining his velocity in the process.
Unfortunately for Estévez, his velocity was still down before exiting the rehab outing, averaging 90 mph on his fastball.
As for the shoulder stiffness, it does not appear to be something either the Royals or Estévez are tied up in knots about.
“Talking to him on the phone, he didn’t seem overly concerned,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He just didn’t want to push through it [because it] was his first outing,” per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
Granted, this is not the news anyone wanted to hear regarding Estévez’s return back to the mound. But with how Lucas Erceg has been throwing lately, there is no need for Kansas City to rush Estévez back. He can take the time needed to fully recover and regain his velocity.
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