Kansas City Royals Closer Carlos Estévez Dealing With Lower Back Tightness

Carlos Estévez, who scored a $22 million payday from the Kansas City Royals this offseason, has yet to appear in a spring training game but is back to throwing off the mound.

Feb 19, 2025; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) poses for a photo during media day. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Carlos Estévez, one of the Kansas City Royals' headlining additions this winter, has yet to see action in the Cactus League.

The veteran reliever has been dealing with "mild" lower back tightness, manager Matt Quatraro told MLB.com's Anne Rogers on Thursday. While that injury has kept him out of any actual games to this point, Estévez did throw off the mound Wednesday and claims to feel good.

Quatraro noted that there is still plenty time for Estévez to make six or seven outings before the end of camp.

Carlos Estévez is dealing with mild lower back tightness, manager Matt Quatraro said, which is why we haven’t seen him in game action. He threw off the mound yesterday and said he felt good. Quatraro said they think there’s plenty of time to “get him 6-7 outings later in camp.”

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) February 27, 2025

Estévez has not been placed on the injured list since his time with the Colorado Rockies, which came to an end in 2022. He hasn't had any documented back issues since he was removed from a game with back spasms in September 2019, but he made another appearance two days later.

The Royals signed Estévez to a two-year, $22 million contract a few weeks before pitchers and catchers reported to camp. He came into spring training favored to become Kansas City's closer in 2025.

Estévez was an All-Star in 2023, racking up 31 saves with the Los Angeles Angels. He was flipped to the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, finishing this past season 4-5 with a 2.45 ERA, 0.909 WHIP, 26 saves and a 2.1 WAR.

The 32-year-old right-hander has made 438 MLB relief appearances across eight MLB seasons. He is 82-for-114 in save opportunities with 65 holds.

Kansas City has four weeks left until Opening Day, giving Estévez a decently long runway to get up to speed.

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