Kansas City Royals All-Star left-hander Kris Bubic will miss the rest of the 2025 season with a left rotator cuff strain, the team announced Monday.
Bubic walked the first four batters he faced and managed to last only 2⅔ innings against Cleveland on Saturday. He needed 42 pitches to get through the first inning, and he wound up allowing four runs and three hits in his shortest start since Sept. 18, 2022.
He said he has experienced some shoulder soreness for much of the season, but he has been able to pitch through it at a breakthrough level. Even with the rocky start Saturday, he has a 2.55 ERA — the fifth-best mark in the American League.
The news came one day after the Royals agreed to a two-year, $46 million extension with right-hander Seth Lugo, reaffirming Kansas City’s intentions ahead of the trade deadline to pursue a playoff spot in a wide-open American League.
Aside from Lugo, the Royals’ rotation has thinned considerably. Left-hander Cole Ragans remains on the IL with a strained rotator cuff and is not expected back until late August, and right-hander Michael Lorenzen is progressing from his strained left oblique but might need to make a rehab start before he returns to the Royals in August.
The Royals already have had to plug one spot with 45-year-old Rich Hill, who pitched well in his debut for them this past week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.