The Los Angeles Dodgers made an under-the-radar move at the trade deadline when they acquired Kris Bubic from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Minor League pitcher Carlos Duran.
Bubic was an All-Star for the Royals in 2025, but has been limited to just nine starts this season due to separate bouts of left elbow soreness and left shoulder soreness.
Bubic is currently on the 60-day injured list after suffering a setback on a second rehab assignment in late June. He received a cortisone injection in early July and has been throwing from out to 80 feet on flat ground.
“So I had a low-grade flexor strain back at the end of May, after my start May 14 in Chicago,” Bubic said of his injuries this season. “Given that I’ve had TJ (Tommy John surgery) a couple years back, wanted to be a little cautious there. Figured I’d take a couple weeks to let things get back to 100%. Three weeks later, shoulder backed up on me in that (rehab) start.
“I had a rotator cuff injury last year as well, so a little history in both areas. So that wasn’t significant, but more impingement-type symptoms. Tried to manage through, kind of kept yo-yoing back and forth between being manageable and not being manageable. Got to a point where it was a little bit of a struggle to play catch, so we got the cortisone injection July 1st, and then took a couple weeks down.
“That’s where I’m currently at now, on the buildup for a couple weeks. Got back off the mound on Sunday, right before the trade happened. We’re getting there. I know it’s been a little while.
“I’m kind of itching to get back going, but I know talking with the staff here, they have a pretty good plan. I’ll expect to come out of the ‘pen in some capacity but at this point I’m looking to get back on the field in any capacity and help this team down the stretch.”
When Bubic is activated off the IL, the Dodgers are planning to use him as a relief pitcher. He possesses the traits teams look for in a bullpen arm, including above-average chase, whiff and strikeout rates.
Kris Bubic pleasantly surprised by trade
Bubic wasn’t necessarily expecting to be traded due to his long stint on the IL, but is happy that the Dodgers were the team to take a flyer on him.
“I kind of know where I’m at in my career, the rental status and all that, but obviously I hadn’t pitched in a little over two months when the deadline came,” Bubic began.
“So I was a little bit surprised. I knew it was going to be a team having to take a little bit of a flyer, given that I haven’t been on a big league mound in a little bit. But thankfully, obviously the Dodgers see some value that we can kind of tinker with here in the next few weeks and then provide any help I can down the stretch.
“It’s exciting. Like I said, seeing the success this organization has had as a whole, especially over the last few years, getting to play against some of these guys in previous years and now getting to be on this side is going to be pretty exciting.”
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