The Kansas City Royals announced great news about pitcher Kris Bubic‘s injury on Monday.
The 28-year-old was only able to make nine starts this season for Kansas City before going down with left elbow soreness on May 18. He was placed on the 15-day injured list. In those nine starts before his injury, Bubic pitched to a 4.11 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings, while securing three wins.
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Bubic has been progressing in his rehab with light baseball activities including throwing sessions. The team announced on Monday that the southpaw would begin a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha starting on Tuesday.
While solid for the Royals so far this season, Bubic had a far more impressive 2025 campaign despite missing August and September with a left rotator cuff strain.
In 20 starts last season, the left-handed pitcher pitched to a 2.55 ERA with 116 strikeouts across 116 1/3 innings. He emerged as a dark-horse candidate for the Cy Young award before his season was cut short.
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A similar case happened in the 2024 season for Bubic. He missed the first half of that season after receiving Tommy John surgery. But after returning, he posted a great 2.67 ERA in 30 1/3 innings. He also dominated in the postseason that year, putting up a 1.93 ERA across four games.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic (50), Peter Aiken-Imagn Images
Bubic has struggled to stay on the field so far in his seven major league seasons. He has yet to pitch more than 130 innings in one season, only reaching that mark in 2021.
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The Royals pitching staff this season has been one of the worst units in the league. Per ERA, their team sits 21st in the league in pitching. The addition of Bubic back to the rotation should help that number immensely. Especially if he can return to the form he showed during his shortened 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
Outside of Bobby Witt Jr., the lineup has also not produced well. They have the 27th worst OPS in the league at .688. After a great 86 win 2024 season which saw them push the New York Yankees to game four of the American League Division Series, the Royals have played to a 109-119 record. They sit ten games until the .500 mark across the last season and a half.
With the return of Bubic expected soon, and a quick turnaround from the lineup, the Royals could easily find their way back into the Wild Card race in a weak American League. They will try to begin the turnaround starting Tuesday against the Texas Rangers.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
