The Royals’ pitching mess was on full display Sunday, and Tyler Tolbert ended up wearing it.
After Kansas City got blasted 19-2 by the Padres in its series finale, manager Matt Quatraro reached for the kind of emergency fix teams hate to use: a position player on the mound. Tolbert handled the ninth inning, marking his fifth pitching appearance of the season.
That number is the part that really jumps out. Tolbert has already been asked to do more than just cover injuries and shuffle around the lineup for Kansas City. He’s become a regular fallback arm, which says plenty about how thin things have gotten on the pitching side.
Mick Shaffer of KSHB 41 News pointed out just how unusual that workload is.
"Tyler Tolbert has as many Royals pitching appearances as Bailey Falter this season and is closing in on Ragans and Bubic," Shaffer wrote on X.
Tyler Tolbert has as many Royals pitching appearances as Bailey Falter this season and is closing in on Ragans and Bubic.
- Mick Shaffer (@mickshaffer) July 19, 2026
Falter was designated for assignment and then sent to the minors after a historically bad outing, but he still only made five appearances for Kansas City. Tolbert is already there, and with more than 60 games left, the gap to Ragans’ eight outings and Bubic’s nine isn’t exactly impossible to imagine, especially if the Royals become active sellers at the trade deadline.
And that’s where the bigger problem comes into focus. Kansas City’s rotation and bullpen have both been part of the issue, not just injuries. The starting staff owns a 4.67 ERA, which ranks 25th in the league, while the bullpen is second-to-last in MLB with a 5.43 ERA.
The Royals are reportedly expected to take a seller’s approach at the deadline, and that could make the rest of the season even rougher. The club is reportedly reluctant to move Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, while Kris Bubic is still working his way back from the mid-May injury that has kept him out.
If arms like Alex Lange, John Schreiber and maybe even Daniel Lynch IV are moved or unavailable, Kansas City could be left leaning even harder on a mix of underperformers and unfamiliar names just to get through games. After what happened Sunday, and after a 19-2 loss like the one they took from San Diego, it’s hard not to see more ugly nights - and maybe more Tyler Tolbert innings - ahead.
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