Kris Bubic is on the verge of his Dodgers debut, and the timing lines up with Los Angeles trying to patch together its pitching staff after the trade deadline.
The left-hander, acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Minor League pitcher Carlos Duran, has joined the club ahead of its series opener against the Cincinnati Reds. Manager Dave Roberts said Bubic could be used as soon as Wednesday, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Roberts also said the Dodgers summoned the rehabbing reliever to join the big club Monday. Because Bubic is on the 60-day injured list, Los Angeles will need corresponding moves on both the 40-man roster and the active roster before he can be reinstated.
The Dodgers are not bringing Bubic in as a starter. Even though he has spent most of his career in that role, the team plans to use him out of the bullpen, where he can help cover innings for a group that is currently missing Edwin Díaz, Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein.
Bubic’s rehab stint with Triple-A Oklahoma City gave the Dodgers a strong look at where he stands right now. In six appearances, he threw 5.2 scoreless innings, allowed two hits and struck out nine.
The 2025 All-Star has been limited this season by separate left elbow and shoulder soreness, which has restricted him to nine starts. Across seven MLB seasons, he has gone 22-38 with a 4.14 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 522 innings.
When the trade went through, Bubic said he was surprised but happy to land in Los Angeles.
“I kind of know where I’m at in my career, the rental status and all that, but obviously I hadn’t pitched in a little over two months when the deadline came,” Bubic began.
“So I was a little bit surprised. I knew it was going to be a team having to take a little bit of a flyer, given that I haven’t been on a big league mound in a little bit. But thankfully, obviously the Dodgers see some value that we can kind of tinker with here in the next few weeks and then provide any help I can down the stretch.
“It’s exciting. Like I said, seeing the success this organization has had as a whole, especially over the last few years, getting to play against some of these guys in previous years and now getting to be on this side is going to be pretty exciting.”
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