Complicated Carlos Estévez saga reaches new lows after latest injury update

The Kansas City Royals fanbase was rightfully nervous when it saw closer Carlos Estévez come in Saturday night to try to close out the game.

The Royals held a two-run lead over the hosting Atlanta Braves, but that edge disappeared quickly once Estévez took the mound. He allowed six earned runs while recording only one out, and the velocity and command issues that showed up this spring were still present.

While the Braves faithful went crazy for the walk-off win, Royals fans were left saying, “I told you so,” after Estévez could not deliver when the lights were brightest.

But the Royals may not be having last year’s saves leader on the mound, or in closing situations, for quite some time.

MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported Sunday morning that the Dominican right-hander was in a walking boot after taking a line drive off his ankle the night before.

Royals now have more than one reason for an open closer role

Estévez stayed in to finish the inning and did not seem shaken by the comebacker in the moment, but it was clearly an issue less than 12 hours later.

Manager Matt Quatraro did not have an immediate timetable for Estévez, saying he “would be surprised” if the closer were available Sunday.

He likely would not, or should not, have been available anyway considering how things looked on the mound, injured or not. But Quatraro also added another layer to Estévez’s outlook.

That “build” Quatraro referenced should already have been complete after a full spring training, one in which command and velocity issues plagued Estévez from the jump.

The veteran reliever does have a track record of being a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to building back velocity, but he has also historically rounded into form once the season started. On Saturday, though, he averaged only 91.2 mph on his fastball and showed no real feel for either the changeup or slider.

That drop is notable considering Estévez averaged nearly 96 mph on the fastball last season. On top of that, only 40.7% of his pitches landed in the zone, well below his 55.8% mark from a year ago.

Atlanta newcomer Dominic Smith is not exactly a prolific hitter, but Estévez pitched him cautiously, clearly trying to get him to chase a changeup down and away for a ground-ball double play.

But Smith sat on the fastball, and when Estévez had to come to him or risk walking in the winning run, Smith took advantage of the count and the moment.

The Royals thankfully have other late-inning options in Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm, but that is not really the point of the fan frustration.

The point is that Estévez has not looked right all spring, and then carried those same issues into a high-leverage situation that helped keep the Royals winless to start the season.

There are still 159 games left to play after this weekend, but it may take even longer than that for Estévez to get back into the Royals fanbase’s circle of trust.