Royals pave way to start season with four-man rotation after optioning Kris Bubic
Sooner or later math and the calendar were going to force the issue. The Kansas City Royals weren’t going to use five starting pitchers until April 14 because of multiple days off in their schedule at the start of the regular season.
Friday, the combination of circumstances and performance caught up with left-handed starting pitcher Kris Bubic. The Royals optioned Bubic to Triple-A and took him out of the equation for the starting rotation, at least for the start of the season.
“It’s really coming down to the fact that we knew going into this thing that we probably wouldn’t need that fifth starter for a while,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “So that would’ve put us in a spot anyhow. We could’ve probably waited until the last day to just kind of let guys keep pitching, but we’re running out of those extended innings.”
Matheny, who has been a strong supporter of Bubic, said the decision to option Bubic allows him to attack the things he knows he needs to work on with a clear game plan and objectives while not competing against major-league talent.
“I believe in this player,” Matheny said. “I believe he’s going to have a very long career and hopefully be able to figure some things out right now that he can look back on and were very instrumental in his development and growth.”
Matheny also said that any potential innings limit coming off of the shortened 2020 season was not an impetus for this move. The organization was not sending him down in order to predetermine Bubic’s workload, Matheny said.
While spring training statistics don’t paint a definitive picture, Bubic has acknowledged his struggles to find consistency during Cactus League play. He said he’d been talking with the coaching staff about finding the right mindset and approach.
In his latest start on Thursday, he allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox. In four spring appearances, he has allowed eight runs (seven earned), 14 hits and four walks along with four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
“I’m working hard to improve the weaknesses, and it’s taking a little time to come,” Bubic said after Thursday’s start. “But for me, I’m not discouraged by that. I’m just going to keep my head up and keep working at it.”
Bubic made the jump from Class A in 2019 to the majors last year. He wen 1-6 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 starts. He showed glimpses of the potential he’d displayed in the minors, but he also fell into a pattern of working around men on base regularly (1.48 WHIP) and racking up high pitch counts that prevented him from pitching deep into games.
With Bubic apparently set to start the season in the minors, the leading candidates for what appears likely to be a four-man rotation at the start of regular season are Danny Duffy, Mike Minor, Brad Keller and Brady Singer.
Right-handers Jakob Junis and Ervin Santana remain candidates to make the Opening Day roster, but Matheny has had discussions with both pitchers, who’ve been starters, about being ready to pitch in hybrid roles and being used out of the bullpen if needed for either shorter outings or multiple innings.
Santana pitched out of the bullpen on Thursday, and Junis might also do the same in the final weeks of spring training. Of course, those outings aren’t guaranteed to come in Cactus League play. They could have some of those outings in simulated games or “B” games on the back fields.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 3:01 PM.
