Kansas City Royals left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic has been sidelined with left elbow soreness, landing on the 15-day injured list as of Monday, media reports indicate.
The roster move takes effect retroactively from May 15, one day following Bubic’s briefest performance this season during Kansas City’s matchup with the White Sox in Chicago. In that 6-2 defeat, he surrendered five earned runs across four innings of work.
To fill Bubic’s roster spot, Kansas City brought up reliever Eli Morgan from their Triple-A affiliate in Omaha.
Bubic, who carries a 3-2 record and 4.11 ERA this season, was scheduled to take the mound for Tuesday’s home contest against Boston. However, manager Matt Quatraro announced prior to Monday’s game that the team would instead utilize multiple relievers for that start.
The 28-year-old pitcher, who had Tommy John surgery in 2023 and dealt with a rotator cuff strain that ended his strong 2025 campaign in late July, remains hopeful this will be a brief absence from the lineup.
“Very mild in nature,” Bubic said. “It’s not something I want to push, given my history and given the timing of the year. So for me, this is good news in a sense. I’ll talk to (Dr. Vincent Key) when he’s here later, but I expect this to be pretty minimal IL, just a few weeks, and we should be back. That’s the expectation in my head.”
Throughout his entire professional career with Kansas City, Bubic compiled an 8-7 record with a 2.55 ERA across 20 starts during the 2025 season.
The California native holds career statistics of 22-38 with a 4.14 ERA.
Morgan, the 30-year-old right-handed pitcher, brings experience from four seasons with Cleveland and one with the Chicago Cubs. He appeared in seven games for Kansas City during April before his assignment to Omaha, recording an 0-1 mark with one save and a 2.61 ERA.
