Bubic scratched from rehab start with shoulder soreness, transferred to 60-day IL

KANSAS CITY – Kris Bubic was scratched from his scheduled rehab assignment start on Wednesday night with left shoulder soreness, and he’s being evaluated further to determine the severity of this recurring injury and what his next steps will be now.

Bubic was slated to make his third rehab start with Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday and was scheduled for three innings/45 pitches. But symptoms occurred during his throwing program on Tuesday evening, which prompted him and the Royals to shut him down while they figure out what he’s dealing with, and he came back to Kansas City to be evaluated by the medical staff.

“He wasn’t comfortable pushing through that or pitching today,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Shut him down. … It’s perplexing because he’s had imaging, he’s seen multiple doctors, and there isn’t anything that jumps off the page on the scans. But he’s obviously still feeling something. He’s dealt with injuries before, and his awareness of it is putting up a red flag. It’s concerning that he can’t keep going.”

Bubic has been on the IL since May 18 (retroactive to May 15) with left elbow soreness, which was actually an injury more related to his forearm. He was able to heal from that and begin a rehab assignment on June 9, only to develop shoulder soreness coming out of that start in Triple-A.

Imaging done on his shoulder didn’t reveal anything concerning, and Bubic began throwing bullpens again by June 18. He went back on a rehab assignment on June 24, and the Royals were cautious with his workload, only having him throw one inning. Last Saturday, he threw two scoreless innings.

Now, it’s unclear exactly what Bubic is dealing with and how long it will be until he can pitch again. This is a frustrating setback for the lefty starter who missed the second half of the 2025 season with a left rotator cuff strain and is now going on his second month of being sidelined this season.

The Royals were hoping to get Bubic back in some capacity soon to help their pitching staff, which has seen its fair share of injuries. That includes lefty starter Cole Ragans, who was undergoing elbow surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles; while the extent of the surgery is unknown right now, the Royals are operating under the assumption that Ragans will likely be out for the rest of this season and the beginning part of next season, too.

Bubic was transferred to the 60-day IL on Wednesday, which was more of a procedural move rather than directly related to this new setback; the Royals needed a 40-man roster spot to add reliever Jose Cuas and call him up to the big leagues. The 60-day IL dates back to Bubic’s initial IL date on May 15, so he’ll be eligible to return July 14. With this setback, Bubic wasn’t going to be back in the next two weeks, anyway.

The Royals also called up veteran pitcher Randy Dobnak on Wednesday, optioned reliever Eric Cerantola to Triple-A and placed reliever Connor Seabold on the IL with a right lat strain. Cuas and Dobnak are fresh additions to a taxed Royals ‘pen that had to cover 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday night. Cuas, who made his Major League debut with the Royals in 2022, returned to the organization on a Minor League deal this offseason and has a 3.31 ERA with Triple-A Omaha this year. The Royals acquired Dobnak from the Mariners in June to add pitching depth to the organization. He’s made 15 starts this year between the two Triple-A teams with a 4.35 ERA, and that includes two starts with Omaha in which he allowed six runs in 10 2/3 innings.