Royals vs Rangers

Estevez made his first rehab appearance in the minors Wednesday as part of his recovery from a left foot injury, but he was removed after just two-thirds of an inning after displaying diminished velocity. Now that he's been officially diagnosed with a strained rotator cuff, the Royals will shut him down from throwing for three weeks before reevaluating him, at which point he may be cleared to restart a throwing program. Lucas Erceg will continue to work as Kansas City's go-to closer while Estevez is out.

Ragans has been sidelined since May 6 with an elbow impingement but has been throwing bullpen sessions for the past week. He's now ready to face live hitters in a game setting and shouldn't need more than one or two rehab starts before rejoining the Royals' rotation. The left-hander has a 4.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 45:23 K:BB across 35.1 innings this season. Ragans has elite swing-and-miss stuff but his 15.2 percent walk rate is in just the sixth percentile, while opponents also have a sky-high 15.7 percent barrel rate against Ragans.

India hasn't played since April 18 and was placed on the injured list eight days ago due to a shoulder subluxation. After further testing, India required season-ending surgery. The 29-year-old's 2026 campaign ends with a .167/.310/.313 slash line with two home runs, eight RBI, eight runs scored and an 8:13 BB:K across 58 trips to the plate. It's been a disappointing two years for India in Kansas City after posting career-low numbers in 2025. Michael Massey and Nick Loftin should continue to see most of the reps at second base for the Royals.

Bubic has handed a 1-0 lead before he took the mound but gave that up quickly when he surrendered a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. The left-hander pitched a clean second but then gave up three runs across the following two frames before being lifted. The five runs he allowed tied a season-worst mark in what turned out to be his shortest outing of the season. Bubic has given up one or zero runs in four of his nine starts, but he's also yielded four or more runs three times. Altogether, he's posted a mediocre 4.11 ERA and 1.23 WHIP along with a 51:26 K:BB over 50.1 innings on the season.

Strahm was placed on the injured list Saturday after patellar tendinitis flared up during his outing Friday. While a formal recovery timeline hasn't been established, the southpaw plans to keep his arm in shape as much as possible while rehabbing his knee back to full strength. Before being shelved, Strahm logged 16.1 innings with a 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB in 2026.

Baumler made three appearances while on his rehab assignment but experienced a setback and hasn't pitched since April 28. It's unclear when the right-hander will restart a throwing program.

Manager Skip Schumaker said Saturday that Seager's recovery "wasn't where we wanted it to be" after Friday's workout, and thus, plans have changed for the shortstop. "We're trying to figure out the next steps," Schumaker added. Seager now seems highly unlikely to return when first eligible, and his availability for the Rangers' upcoming homestand is in doubt.

Smith is expected to remain in the hospital for 7-to-10 days, at which point he'll restart his rehab program. The 28-year-old utility man had already been dealing with a glute strain and a wrist issue, and there's currently no telling when he'll be back in the Rangers' lineup. Ezequiel Duran has been making regular starts at second base with Smith sidelined.

Garcia is seeing improvement in his shoulder every time he throws, but he is still dealing with some discomfort and isn't close to returning to Texas' bullpen. The Rangers may offer an update on his return timeline after he is cleared to resume mound work.

This continues a string of good news for Langford, who has been out since April 21 and suffered a setback in an extended spring game. The grip test the outfielder must complete uses the baseline measure he posted during spring training as a threshold, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. If Langford's strength is at least 80 percent of what it was in camp, the Rangers will consider it a success and put a bat in his hands to begin a full ramp-up.

Nimmo notched a run-scoring single in the second inning and drove in two more runs with a 425-foot homer in the fourth. The outfielder finished with three hits for the fourth time this season and knocked in three runs for the second time. Nimmo's big night may have broken him out of a slump that saw him go 1-for-20 at the plate over his previous five games coming into Tuesday.

Jung completed the Rangers' comeback in the top of the ninth inning, singling in the go-ahead run. It was his first RBI in 10 games and just the second over the last 17. Jung, who entered May on a tear, has slumped the last couple of weeks and entered Wednesday with a .212 average over the previous 13 contests.

All signs are pointing to Gore being ready for his next turn in the rotation scheduled for Sunday against the Angels. The left-hander, who exited a start Monday, underwent an MRI which came negative.