Royals vs Twins

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.

Laweryson is working his way back from a right forearm strain, which sent him to the 15-day injured list back on April 11. Since he's been shelved for five weeks with the injury, Laweryson may need at least a couple more tune-up appearances in the minors before slotting back into the Minnesota bullpen.

Minnesota placed Sands on the IL on May 2 due to a right forearm strain, so the Twins appear to be viewing early June as a rough target date for the 28-year-old reliever's return. Before landing on the shelf, Sands had collected one win, one save and three holds while posting a 4.63 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB in 11.2 innings across 12 appearances.

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Initially placed on the 15-day injured list April 20 due to right elbow inflammation, Abel hit a snag in his recovery earlier this month, when he experienced soreness in his right triceps following a bullpen session. Abel appears to have responded well after receiving a cortisone injection to address the triceps issue, but he could be built up more slowly in his throwing program following the recent setback. The right-hander will gradually increase his throwing distance off flat ground before advancing to throwing off a mound and then facing hitters.

The Twins announced Jeffers' placement on the injured list earlier Tuesday, and surgery is typical for this time of injury. The timeline puts Jeffers on the shelf until around July 1 in a best-case scenario, and it's possible he won't make it back until after the All-Star break. In the meantime, Victor Caratini will receive the lion's share of reps at catcher for Minnesota.

Coming back from right pectoral inflammation, Bradley threw around 65 pitches Sunday between a rehab start and a post-start bullpen session. He threw off the mound again Wednesday, and if he recovers well he might slot back into the rotation Saturday. Bradley was excellent before getting hurt, holding a 2.87 ERA and 52:17 K:BB over 47 innings covering eight starts. If Bradley does start Saturday, he would be somewhat limited from a workload perspective.

Gray will occupy the hot corner for the third straight game and looks poised to get a look as an everyday player against right-handed pitching after the Twins optioned Royce Lewis to Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday. Through 25 games with Minnesota this season, Gray has slashed .230/.275/.365 with three home runs, no stolen bases, 14 RBI and eight runs across 81 plate appearances.