PHOENIX — The other left-handed pitcher on an expiring contract acquired by the Dodgers at the trade deadline was “a little surprised” to hear he had been traded while on the injured list.
“I kind of know where I’m at in my career, the rental status and all that,” said Kris Bubic, who can become a free agent this winter. “But obviously I hadn’t pitched in a couple months, a little over two months when the deadline came.
“I knew it was going to have to be a team willing to take a little bit of a flyer given that I haven’t been on a big-league mound in a little bit.”
The Dodgers were willing to take that flyer, sending Triple-A right-hander Carlos Duran to the Kansas City Royals for Bubic. An All-Star in 2025 for the Royals, Bubic made just nine starts for them this season before going on the IL in May. His return to action has been hindered by setbacks since then.
“I had a low-grade flexor strain back in May, after my start May 14 in Chicago,” Bubic recounted. “Given I had TJ (Tommy John surgery) a couple years back, we wanted to be cautious there so we figured I should take a couple weeks, let things get back to 100 percent. Went on a rehab assignment three weeks later and my shoulder backed up on me. I had a rotator cuff injury last year as well. So I had a little history in both areas. It wasn’t crazy significant but more impingement-type symptoms. I tried to manage through. Kept kind of yo-yoing back and forth between being manageable and not being manageable. It got to the point where it was a little bit of a struggle to play catch.”
Bubic got a cortisone injection on July 1 and was shut down for a couple more weeks. He re-started his throwing program in July but just threw off a mound for the first time on Sunday.
He joined the Dodgers at Chase Field on Friday and is expected to throw another bullpen session on Saturday. But then he will stay back at Camelback Ranch to continue working toward a rehab assignment at some point near the end of August or early September.
Ideally, Bubic would return in time to be evaluated for a bullpen role in the postseason. When the Royals made the playoffs as a wild card team in 2024, Bubic made four appearances out of the bullpen, allowing one run on five hits in 4⅔ innings.
“I’ve had experience in pretty much any role possible in the big leagues, a little more recently in a more high-leverage role back in 2024 when we were in the postseason. So I’m open to doing that again,” said Bubic, who has a 4.28 ERA in 89 career starts during the regular season and 2.97 in 37 relief appearances.
“But I think making sure the volume is where it needs to be over the next few weeks is going to be really important and then obviously going on a rehab assignment from there and getting back. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.”
PITCHING PLAN
The Dodgers will start sending two-time Cy Young Award winners to the mound on back-to-back days next week.
Tarik Skubal will make his next start and first home start for the Dodgers on Monday night against the Royals.
Blake Snell will join the rotation and start on Tuesday. Snell completed his rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Tuesday, throwing 73 pitches over 3⅔ innings. Snell has made just one start this season (May 9) before undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
BEEN AWHILE
Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone each made their season debuts with Triple-A Oklahoma City this week.
Miller was bothered by shoulder and back pain for most of the season. He pitched two innings for OKC on Wednesday, his first game action since last September.
Stone pitched for the first time in nearly two years on Thursday night. After undergoing shoulder surgery in October 2024, Stone missed all of the 2025 season. He pitched in one Cactus League game this spring before experiencing a setback in his recovery. He threw 1⅔ innings for OKC on Thursday.
UP NEXT
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-7, 2.76 ERA) at Diamondbacks (RHP Brandon Pfaadt, 6-1, 3.66 ERA), Saturday, 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM