{"id":575663,"date":"2026-02-16T14:53:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/575663\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T14:53:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:53:14","slug":"kansas-city-royals-news-is-kris-bubic-ready-to-be-an-all-star-again-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/575663\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Royals news: Is Kris Bubic ready to be an All-Star again?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jalon Thompson talks to Kris Bubic as he ramps back up after an injury ended his season last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bubic faced several hitters during the live batting practice. He showcased his pitching arsenal and had a few minor self-critiques. Overall, he felt his fastball command was there and that his changeup could\u2019ve been a little sharper. Yet, the gravity of his performance was noticeable. He didn\u2019t miss a beat, and that bodes well for the Royals as they enter Cactus League play on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting back out there is step No. 1,\u201d Bubic said. \u201cJust hearing the feedback, too, right away has been great. You know, just seeing a hitter in the box is great as well. It\u2019s great to always have the support of my teammates. They saw me quite a bit last year and was with me too when I was doing the rehab towards the end of the year. But I\u2019m excited and I know they are excited. Obviously, we just want to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also talks to Salvador Perez about getting in some action in the Venezuelan Winter League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d Perez said. \u201cI don\u2019t remember the last time I played. Last December, I played 22 games and Jose Alguacil was the manager. I played for Caracas, my mom\u2019s team, so she was super excited. You know, I think it\u2019s going to help me. It\u2019s kind of different to face some pitchers and not wait for a month to face pitchers here in live BP (batting practice) in spring training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben Kudrna could get an extended look this spring<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, Kudrna is ready to seize his opportunity this spring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, now being here, I look at it as a big opportunity to learn. You\u2019ve got guys that have been there and done that. They have illustrious careers, and you don\u2019t stay in this game that long unless you\u2019re doing the right things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitching coach Brian Sweeney discusses how the team is planning to adjust to the new ABS challenge system<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think pitchers should challenge any call,\u201d Sweeney said. \u201cLet the guy behind the plate \u2026 who has the feel for it. I\u2019m sure we are going to see it over there right away. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a process that we are trying to understand. And talking with R&D (research and development) and the guys in the minor leagues that have used it before, it\u2019s, OK, when do we use our challenges and who calls them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne Rogers writes about the bullpen competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The two to really watch are Avila and Falter. The Royals still believe in Avila as a starter, but there are enough voices on the Major League side saying he could make an impact as a reliever right now. The stuff ticked up when he got a chance in the \u2018pen last year, and his curveball was devastating. Falter is out of options, so the Royals need to decide how and where he fits. He had a rough time last year when he was moved to the \u2018pen, ultimately ending the season on the IL, but Falter could be another lefty out there.<\/p>\n

She also talks to Jac Caglianone about improvements he made over the offseason<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most important thing Caglianone worked on this offseason was swing decisions. He felt he got himself out \u201ca lot more than the pitchers did,\u201d he said. Whether that was because he was seeing the best stuff he\u2019s ever seen in his life at the Major League level or because of the subconscious pressure he put on himself \u2014 or very likely both \u2014 Caglianone wanted to be more prepared for what he was going to face in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest things I took away from last year was these guys are really good at throwing strike-to-ball pitches,\u201d Caglianone said. \u201cOut of the hand, it looks really good, and it ends up being a 58-foot curveball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Royals coach Gary Blaylock died this week at age 94<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Rangers sign former Royals outfielder Mark Canha to a minor league deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Orioles acquire former Royals pitcher Jackson Kowar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Astros sign former Royals infielder Cavan Biggio to a minor league deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arizona re-signs pitcher Zac Gallen<\/a> on a one-year deal.<\/p>\n

The Brewers sign catcher Gary S\u00e1nchez <\/a>to a one-year contract.<\/p>\n

The Orioles may be looking to trade<\/a> Coby Mayo or Ryan Mountcastle.<\/p>\n

Bryce Harper is irked by Phillies management<\/a> over comments that he\u2019s not an elite player.<\/p>\n

The Padres sign Nick Castellanos<\/a> and Germ\u00e1n M\u00e1rquez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Reds sign first baseman Nathaniel Lowe<\/a> to a minor league deal.<\/p>\n

Is Jasson Dom\u00ednguez the odd man out in New York<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

What are the college baseball teams to keep an eye on this season<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Kansas State fires men\u2019s basketball coach Jerome Tang<\/a> \u201cfor cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is the most shameless tanking team in the NBA<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Gaming\u2019s biggest publishers are leaning on indie studios to freshen up their most valuable games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Humans really don\u2019t need chins.<\/a><\/p>\n

Your song of the day is Blondie with Sunday Girl.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jalon Thompson talks to Kris Bubic as he ramps back up after an injury ended his season last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[146,145,42,5,9931,136,59102,1207,5250,2129,583,10951,1127,140,231,3289,67322,936,2123,55,2596,2595,309,4850,4,13669,495,8639,40,252,1359,373,2122,86],"class_list":["post-575663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-royals","tag-arizona","tag-arsenal","tag-astros","tag-baseball","tag-ben-kudrna","tag-brewers","tag-brian-sweeney","tag-bryce-harper","tag-cactus-league","tag-cavan-biggio","tag-coby-mayo","tag-falter","tag-gary-sanchez","tag-german-marquez","tag-jac-caglianone","tag-jasson-dominguez","tag-jose-alguacil","tag-kansas","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascityroyals","tag-kris-bubic","tag-mark-canha","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-all-star-game","tag-nathaniel-lowe","tag-nick-castellanos","tag-phillies","tag-royals","tag-ryan-mountcastle","tag-salvador-perez","tag-the-royals","tag-zac-gallen"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}