Dodgers Adding All-Star Pitcher to Bullpen in Surprise Late-Season Move

When the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired pitcher Kris Bubic from the Kansas City Royals at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the lack of buzz around the trade was more notable than the trade itself.

Bubic, a 29-year-old left-hander, hasn't pitched in the majors since May because of elbow soreness. Because of an ongoing minor league rehab assignment, the Dodgers haven't assigned him a locker, a uniform number or even a clearly defined role in their bullpen plans for September or October.

Now, with the regular season winding down and the Dodgers heading to Cincinnati to begin a four-game series against the Reds, Bubic will at least have a locker again.

According to multiple reports Monday, the Dodgers are bringing Bubic back from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City. The plan doesn't call for him to be activated before the series opener, but Bubic will at least be in position to help once the situation demands it.

Bubic pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on Sunday for the Oklahoma City Comets. That was his first outing of more than three outs since he restarted his rehab in September.

Bubic pitched on back-to-back games for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday, so it makes sense that the Dodgers would want to wait a day to activate him — giving him the chance to be available for consecutive games, or more than three outs, starting Tuesday at the earliest.

Bubic had mixed results as a starting pitcher in April and May for the Royals before he was sidelined by the elbow injury.

The veteran limited opponents to a .167 batting average in five home starts at Kauffman Stadium, going 2-1 with a 3.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. On the road, he was 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA; opponents hit .244 against him away from home, and his walk rate jumped.

Bubic has pitched exclusively in relief on his rehab assignment, and there's no indication he will be built up as a starter in the final two weeks of the regular season. Besides being out of time, Bubic would only be used as a reliever in October behind Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.

Still, there's an obvious slot for him in the bullpen. The Dodgers haven't had a reliable long reliever/swingman since Eric Lauer was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation earlier this month. Friday, Lauer was transferred to the 60-day injured list, effectively ending his season.

Like Lauer, Bubic is a below-average pitcher in terms of pure stuff. Still, his ability to pitch multiple innings and stifle some of the better left-handed heavy lineups the Dodgers will face makes him a potentially valuable addition for September, if not October as well.

Bubic was an All-Star for the Royals in 2025 and finished the season with a 2.55 ERA across 20 starts and 116 strikeouts in 116.1 innings.

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