The Kansas City Royals have scratched left-handed starter Kris Bubic from his scheduled rehab outing Wednesday.
Bubic was set to pitch around three innings with Triple-A Omaha. It would’ve been his third rehab appearance with the Storm Chasers.
However, Royals assistant general manager Scott Sharp joined Sports Radio 810 WHB and said Bubic will return to Kansas City. He will undergo further evaluation as he deals with left-shoulder soreness.
“I wish I had a little bit better news,” Sharp said. “Kris was supposed to pitch tonight. I don’t think he’s going to. He’s going to come back to Kansas City. And we just can’t get the final little bit of soreness out there. We’ll continue to be hopeful with continued treatment and rest that we can get him back sooner than later.”
The Royals don’t have an exact timetable for his return. This season, he posted a 4.11 ERA in nine games. His last start came May 14 against the Chicago White Sox when he allowed five runs in four innings at Rate Field.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro provided additional clarity. He said Bubic is dealing with prolonged symptoms that have halted his progress. His elbow isn’t the concern, but now his shoulder is a source of discomfort.
“He was going to pitch today,” Quatraro said. “Yesterday, during the throwing program, which happened after we had met, he just had a recurrence of symptoms. So he wasn’t comfortable pushing through that or pitching today. So we shut him down.”
Bubic was also transferred to the 60-day injured list. It opened a roster spot for the club to add right-handed reliever Jose Cuas to the 40-man roster. Cuas was promoted by the Royals alongside right-hander Randy Dobnak in a flurry of moves.
“It was trending in a positive direction,” Sharp said. “It looks like something that we have to continue to evaluate. And we were hopeful to get him back to that starter buildup. At this point, we are starting to lose some time in the season in terms of actually being able to stretch a guy out and be built up.”
Bubic is among multiple Royals starters currently on the injured list. He joins Cole Ragans, Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna with long-term injuries. The Royals have utilized young starters such as Luinder Avila and Stephen Kolek to fill rotation spots.
However, the club’s starting depth has been tested, resulting in an increase of bullpen games to navigate the rough stretch.
And Bubic is in a contract year. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026 campaign.
For now, the Royals hope to figure out exactly what’s bothering him. The continued setbacks have kept him out longer than initially expected.
“It’s perplexing because he’s had imaging, he’s seen multiple doctors, there isn’t anything that jumps off the page on the scans,” Quatraro said. “But he’s obviously still feeling something. And he’s dealt with injuries before and his awareness of it is, you know, putting up a red flag. It’s concerning that he can’t keep going.”
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