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The Kansas City Royals (52-54) have given their fans just enough hope heading into the final two months of the 2025 campaign, taking two out of three versus both the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians to pull within four games of the final American League Wild Card position. They also acquired Randal Grichuk in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and signed Seth Lugo to a contract extension, signaling that the franchise was not interested in breaking apart its MLB roster at the trade deadline. But fans' outlook for the season is due to change following the latest Kris Bubic injury news.
The left-handed starter will not pitch again in 2025, according to MLB.com's Anne Rogers, as he begins recovery for a rotator cuff strain. Bubic exited Saturday's game versus the Guardians with shoulder stiffness after struggling in an abbreviated outing. KC placed him on the 15-day injured list, leaving some optimism that he could rejoin the club for the postseason push. There is no need for that anymore, though. The Royals have ended the suspense.
Bubic prematurely ends his career campaign with a 2.55 ERA, 116 strikeouts and .626 OPS allowed in 116 1/3 innings of work. The All-Star hurler was a possible trade candidate before landing on the IL, especially since he hits free agency after next season, but Kansas City will hold on to him now.
Royals have caught a couple of bad breaks, in addition to their existing problems
Although it is best to stay positive in the face of increased adversity, Royals fans are bound to entertain two difficult questions.
Will Kris Bubic regain this top form and trade value again? And is it practical to shut down fellow southpaw Cole Ragans for the remainder of the year as well?
The 27-year-old, who represented the franchise in the 2024 Midsummer Classic and earned a fourth-place finish in the AL Cy Young race, is dealing with his own rotator cuff strain. He has not pitched since June 5. Ragans was instrumental to the Royals ending their playoff drought in 2024 (had not made it since 2015) and is seen as a core part of the team's future. This year has gone much differently, however, as evidenced by his lengthy IL stint and 5.18 ERA.
Kansas City's ceiling has been heavily linked to its top-flight starting rotation over the last two seasons. Following the devastating Bubic setback, there is more pressure on the lineup to produce. The Royals' offense has not earned the benefit of the doubt. Unless Bobby Witt Jr. returns to his MVP contender form of last year, it is hard to visualize KC becoming a slug-heavy squad for the rest of the campaign.
What will KC do now?
Hence, general manager J.J. Picollo is in a tough spot. If the executive was interested in making additional moves to supplement the Grichuk addition, he may now have to think twice. It is also hard to see the organization becoming a seller at the trade deadline, though. With Bubic on the shelf, there are not many logical options to ship out in the next few days.
Royals fans had to watch bad baseball for nearly a decade before emotionally reinvesting themselves in the product. Unfortunately, in light of the recent injury misfortune and ongoing offensive woes, they might have to repeat the three words that tortured their tongues for what felt like an eternity.”Maybe next year.”
KC will try to stay on an upward trajectory and push through its issues when it hosts the Atlanta Braves (44-60) on Monday night. This squad can potentially give itself a little more time to combat the Kris Bubic blow by beating up on an opponent that is currently riding a five-game losing streak.
