Kris Bubic

The 29-year-old southpaw returned in September after a lengthy stint on the injured list and fired 4 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball for the Dodgers with a 5/0 K/BB ratio. He’s one of the most intriguing options available on the open market and should be able to land a lucrative multi-year pact.

It remains a mystery shrouded in an enigma in terms of what type of role the Dodgers have planned for Bubic as he returns to the big leagues for the first time since mid-May. The 29-year-old impending free agent came over from the Royals at the trade deadline and figures to operate out of the Dodgers’ bullpen in the postseason. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

Bubic hasn’t pitched since the middle of May and will be returning when Blake Snell (elbow) and Tyler Glasnow (back) are also likely back in the Dodgers’ rotation. That means that Bubic will most likely serve as a bulk relief option for the Dodgers in September and potentially the playoffs.

The Dodgers are the type of powerhouse that can afford to take a chance on Bubic, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in the big leagues since mid-May. The 28-year-old impending free agent is working his way back from a shoulder issue and there isn’t a lot of clarity in terms of when he’ll be able to return. Still, he’s a zero-risk gamble for the Dodgers on the chance that he’s able to come back and contribute down the home stretch.

Reliever Carlos Duran will serve as the return. There’s probably a 10 percent chance of this paying off for the Dodgers, but why not? Bubic, a free agent at season’s end, has a 3.02 ERA and a 167/65 K/BB in 166 2/3 innings over 29 starts since the beginning of last year. He was also excellent in 27 relief appearances in 2024 after returning from Tommy John surgery. He’s currently on the shelf with a sore shoulder, but he’s back throwing again now and might be of some use in September, probably out of the pen.

The procedural move frees up a spot on Kansas City’s 40-man roster. Bubic was on the precipice of making it back to the majors before suffering a setback in his rehabilitation process. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers notes that Bubic is dealing with a shoulder issue that led to the 28-year-old southpaw being scratched from Wednesday’s scheduled rehab outing for Triple-A Omaha. There should be some clarity on his status and next steps later this week.

Bubic made his first rehab start on June 24th and threw just eight pitches in a scoreless inning. He was set to pitch again on Wednesday, but he will not head back to Kansas City for further evaluation. This is obviously not a great sign, but we will await the results of further evaluation before predicting whether he will pitch again this season.

Bubic threw just eight pitches in his first rehab outing since June 9. The 28-year-old has been on the injured list with elbow soreness since mid-May. He’s likely to remain out until after next month’s All-Star break since he’ll need a handful of additional outings to continue building up his arm strength and pitch count. The encouraging news here is that he’s healthy and making progress again.

Bubic experienced elbow soreness on May 18th and landed on the injured list. Since he hasn’t missed an extended period of time, he may need to make one or two rehab appearances before rejoining the Royals’ rotation. The 28-year-old has a 4.11 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, and a 51/26 K/BB ratio in 50 1/3 innings this season.

Bubic resumed throwing earlier this week, but is still dealing with some generic arm discomfort. There’s a chance the Royals back off a little bit with his ramp-up process in the coming days. The 28-year-old southpaw hit the shelf with elbow soreness back on May 18. There is no timetable for his return.

It sounds like a precautionary decision by Kansas City after Bubic told reporters he experienced more soreness than usual following his last start against the White Sox where he allowed five runs over four innings. The 28-year-old lefty will undergo further evaluation, and likely imaging, to determine whether he’s dealing with anything from a structural standpoint. At a minimum, he’ll wind up missing at least a couple weeks.

The 28-year-old left-hander also walked three batters in the contest while striking out four. Randal Grichuk did most of the damage against him, smacking a two-run homer in the opening inning and adding a two-run single in the third. Bubic got six swings and misses on 84 pitches on the night, registering a miserable CSW of only 18 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he lugs a 4.11 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 51/26 K/BB ratio (50 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s tilt against the Red Sox.

Things could have gone much worse for Bubic in this one, as he struggled to keep the ball in the strike zone, but managed to hold the Tigers to just one run through the first five innings before they finally got to him in the sixth inning. With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the sixth inning, Bubic gave up an RBI double to Wenceel Pérez to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead, and was responsible for Pérez coming around to score on the following at-bat after he was pulled for reliever Nick Mears. Bubic has walked three or more batters in six of his eight starts, but has been able to limit runs despite putting runners on. His next start is scheduled for Thursday on the road against the White Sox.

Bubic struck out seven while allowing one or no runs for the fourth time in seven starts this season. He’s 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA ahead of a date with the Tigers next weekend.

Bubic got out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout to end the first inning, then gave up one run on two hits in the second. He settled in for three more scoreless innings before allowing the leadoff man on in the sixth. That would end his day at 96 pitches. Bubic generated 14 whiffs to strike out six. The 28-year-old left-hander will take a 3.74 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 35/17 K/BB ratio across 33 2/3 innings into a start against the Mariners in Seattle on Sunday.

In the second inning, Coby Mayo unloaded on a middle-middle fastball from Bubic and parked it deep in the left field seats for a three-run homer. After that, Bubic faced just two batters over the minimum as he cruised through the sixth inning. He didn’t miss many bats, but didn’t give up many hard-hit balls either. He wound up with a quality start and his lineup came back to take him off the hook. He’s scheduled to face the Athletics and Mariners on the road in what should be a two-start week coming up.

Bubic also issued three free passes on the day while striking out three. The Tigers scratched out single runs against him in the second and fourth innings, then piled on with three more in the fifth while chasing the 28-year-old southpaw from the ballgame. Bubic generated six swings and misses on 82 pitches in the contest, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. Even with this rough outing, Bubic still sports a respectable 3.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and a 26/10 K/BB ratio over 22 2/3 innings through his first four starts. He’ll try to put this one behind him and get back on track as he does battle against the Orioles at home on Tuesday.

Bubic allowed just two hits and one walk in the ballgame. He carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning until Lenyn Sosa smacked a leadoff double, but Bubic rallied and stranded him right there. He generated 17 swings and misses on 88 pitches on the evening — seven of those on his fastball — while posting a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll attempt to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 2.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 23/7 K/BB ratio (18 innings) into Thursday’s showdown against the Tigers in Motown.

Most of the damage came with two outs in the first, as William Contreras walked, Christian Yelich tripled and Gary Sánchez homered. Nick Loftin almost caught the triple on a dive, which probably would have been a game-changer. Bubic finished eight strikeouts, generating whiffs on 18 of 56 swings. He’ll get the White Sox next.

Matt Wallner’s homer accounted for the only damage, even though Bubic surrendered seven other hard-hit balls, walked three and threw a wild pitch. Fortunately, he was facing a Twins lineup that figures to have problems against lefties all season long. Bubic finished with four strikeouts, generating 12 whiffs on 34 swings. He will make another start at home this weekend against the Brewers.