Royals News: Kris Bubic update, Mitch Spence rebound, Thomas Hatch’s new home

After going 5-2 to start the month the Royals get a much needed breather before returning to action on Tuesday where they’ll play 11 straight days. However, the lead up to this off-day has come with it’s challenges, with multiple key names getting bumped an bruised along the way in recent weeks. Maikel Garcia only just returned to action over the weekend after a week-long hamstring ailment held him out. Jac Caglianone left Saturday’s game prematurely with a shoulder injury. And most notably Bobby Witt Jr.’s health is up in the air after leaving Sunday’s win in the seventh inning with knee soreness.

However, perhaps they could be in line for some good injury news after the latest update regarding injured starter Kris Bubic. According to an official team announcement on Monday Bubic is hopeful to start a rehab assignment on Tuesday in Omaha. The All-Star lefty has been sidelined on the 15-day IL since mid-May with left elbow soreness.

While Bubic hadn’t looked as strong in the start of 2026 as he’d looked last year in his All-Star campaign, he was certainly still a relied upon member in the Royals staff before going down. In 50.1 innings across nine starts, he’d thrown to a very serviceable 4.11 ERA along with a 3.72 FIP, 1.23 WHIP and .200 BAA.

If things go well, the Royals will once again have a formidable top three in him Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha and the weight of losing Cole Ragans won’t feel nearly so heavy. And the resurgence of Noah Cameron in recent starts will only give them more hope for climbing out of the sizable hole they dug for themselves in the first two months of the season.

And if the Royals find themselves in a position where they need to sell at the upcoming summer trade deadline, Bubic is already generating some buzz on the market, so a healthy version of him will likely only ramp interest up.

Mitch Spence appears to have put recent nightmare Triple-A start behind him

As the Royals were trying to navigate their minimal pitching depth after the debacle that Bailey Falter DFA-worthy performance caused, 40-man depth arm Mitch Spence didn’t make their lives any easier with his arguably more disappointing performance the same night.

In that aforementioned start on May 26, Spence gave up a whopping 13 runs off 15 hits in just 3.0 innings of work.

However, Spence has made a pair of starts for the Storm Chasers since then and as looked like a very suitable depth option for the Royals once again, perhaps proving that that one lowly outing was merely an outlier. On May 31, he closed out the month by giving up just a pair of earned runs off seven hits and one walk in 5.2 innings of work.

Then, most notably, in his most recent start this past Friday, Spence would throw for three innings of shutout, one hit ball while striking out five. Not only was it undeniably his best outing of the season for Omaha, but it also won him Royals Triple-A Pitcher of the Week honors.

With how this team has fared with injuries, especially on the mound, the Royals could very well be in a position where they need to call upon an arm capable of giving them length, like Spence. The fact that he’s not only returned to his usual self serviceable-looking self, but has elevated his game and is riding some momentum, only strengthens this Royals squad.

Former Royals pitcher Thomas Hatch is heading to Korea

Wrapping up with an old friend alert, former Royals starter/swingman Thomas Hatch has landed himself a KBO contract, signing a one-year, $590,000 deal with the SSG Landers.

The move comes off the heals of Hatch being released by the Arizona Diamondbacks last week following a relatively decent stint in Triple-A Reno. Through 51.2 innings across 11 starts with the Aces, Hatch was throwing to a 4.01 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .245 BAA.

This isn’t the first time that Hatch has spent time overseas, as in 2024, he made five starts for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp where he was largely unsuccessful, throwing to a 7.36 ERA.

Hatch spent the start of the 2025 season in the Royals system after signing with them that winter on a minor league contract. After throwing to a 4.22 ERA in 18 starts with them, he was selected by the major league club on July 29. Then, following just an inning of work in Kansas City, Hatch was released just days later on Aug. 2 and claimed by the Minnesota Twins two days after that.