KC Royals place Kris Bubic on injured list but have time to make decision on rotation
As it turns out, the weather wasn’t to blame for the forearm tightness that Royals left-hander Kris Bubic experienced on Saturday.
The Royals placed Bubic on the 15-day Injured List because of a left flexor strain Sunday, one day after his start against the Atlanta Braves at Kauffman Stadium.
Left-hander Josh Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to replace Bubic on the active roster.
Bubic gave up five runs on 10 hits in five innings Saturday during the Braves’ 9-3 victory over the Royals. Afterward, Bubic said a rain delay and cool temperatures may have led to forearm tightness.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said before Sunday’s game that Bubic was “getting further diagnostics,” so the severity of the injury remains unknown. But it was serious enough to land Bubic on the IL.
The Royals have an off-day Thursday, which would have been Bubic’s turn in the rotation. That allows Quatraro some time before making a decision on how to fill Bubic’s absence.
Quatraro said using an opener could be an option, but that’s not a decision that needs to be made since the Royals won’t need to fill Bubic’s stop until April 25 at the earliest.
“We have (Zack) Greinke, (Jordan) Lyles, (Brad) Keller, (Brady) Singer the next four days with an off-day in there, so we don’t need to decide that now,” Quatraro said. “Oftentimes, if you use an opener and who it is depends on how you get to that point. So you wouldn’t say five days from now we’re going to use this guy as an opener.”
Taylor’s role
Taylor appeared in five games with the Storm Chasers, allowing nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings pitched. He had a 6.75 ERA at Omaha.
The Royals acquired Taylor from the Red Sox in January as part of a trade that sent infielder Adalberto Mondesi to Boston.
Quatraro is excited to see Taylor and said it was a tough decision to send him to Omaha at the end of spring training.
Taylor, 30, last pitched in the majors with the Red Sox during the 2021 season. He had a 3.40 ERA in 61 games with 60 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.
A back injury limited Taylor to 13 games in the minor leagues a year ago.
“It’s been a couple of years but glad to be back,” Taylor said. “It’s been a grind. It’s been a lot of ups and downs, but you gotta get through it and work hard and keep working to get back up here. And sometimes that’s just what it takes is to just keep your nose down and keep working.”
