Carlos Estevéz's nightmare Royals season continues after latest injury setback

Kansas City Royals fans have been put through the ringer of late when it comes to pitching injuries. After their pitching depth received to blows last week, with Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna undergoing season-ending surgery, that shallow depth was tested on Tuesday after Noah Cameron was forced to have his spot in the rotation skipped due to back tightness. Then on Wednesday, after just three innings of work, Cole Ragans was lifted from his scoreless outing with left tricep and elbow soreness.

However, Ragans' injury wasn't even the first one of the day Royals fans were forced to palate, as in his rehab outing on Wednesday afternoon, former closer Carlos Estevéz exited his rehab start with shoulder discomfort, as per a report from Anne Rogers of MLB.com.

After reports ahead of his rehab outing indicated that his velocity was back up while working down in Arizona, to hear his velocity had dropped again was certainly not welcome news to Royals fans hoping to get an arm like the saves leader Estevéz was in 2025. And as Rogers described it, the scene was not reassuring-looking in the slightest in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

"His last pitch to Nick Cimillo was an 88.5 mph fastball that Cimillo popped up to first baseman Abraham Toro," Rogers wrote. "After that out, Estévez took his time getting back to the mound, alerting the Omaha dugout and bringing out a trainer."

"Estévez opened and closed his right hand and grabbed the trainer’s hand to squeeze it," she wrote. "Then Estévez grabbed an area around his armpit/tricep on his right arm before exiting the game."

Estévez hit the shelf after his first outing of the season against Atlanta with a foot contusion, following a comebacker he took in that blown save effort. However, the fact his shoulder is the issue in this case could be a better explanation as to why he's been struggling with finding his velocity, which dates back to issues he had during spring training.

Despite Estévez's injury setback, Royals' bullpen is stepping up in his absence

When Estévez blew his only save opportunity in the embarrassing fashion to start the season and the subsequently hit the injured list, it left a major hole in their bullpen. Again, this was the MLB saves leader just a year ago that suddenly not only didn't look like himself, but never got the chance to find his footing before hitting the shelf.

While it looked bleak to start the season, with the Royals bullpen ranking as one of the worst in baseball and costing them numerous games, it's really come into it's own of late. Entering Wednesday's game, their relief corps has done a full 180, ranking second in the league in ERA and first in both WHIP and BAA since April 24.

As for the closing role and the backend of the bullpen, Lucas Erceg, while having his hiccups, has posted seven straight scoreless outings and raised his saves total up to a second best total in all of baseball of 10. He trails only the Padres All-Star fireballer Mason Miller. Then, there's Matt Strahm, who again struggled at points in the early going, but has posted eight scoreless outings in his last nine. On top of that, Daniel Lynch IV at a 1.84 ERA and Nick Mears at a 2.13 ERA look like legitimate set-up men themselves.

All in all, while the Royals would certainly welcome a healthy Estévez back into the mix, they've adjusted to well to life without him. And if the Royals do end up getting him back in the rotation, these adjustments were necessary regardless, as he'll likely have to work to build trust in him back up in the eyes of Matt Quatraro and the coaching staff.

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