Royals should be very concerned with $22M closer after 162.00 ERA start to season
This is a very concerning issue for the Royals to begin the year.
Royals should be very concerned with $22M closer after 162. 00 ERA start to season originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Kansas City Royals began their 2026 season on the road against the Atlanta Braves , and they two-of-three, with their second loss being an especially brutal 6-2 late-inning defeat. Heading into the ninth inning, the Royals were up 2-0, and they sent $22 million closer Carlos Estevez out to the mound. He promptly gave up six runs, including a walk-off grand slam to Dominic Smith.
After such a rough outing, ESPN's David Schoenfield made the case that the Royals and their fans should be very concerned about Estevez. The righty who had 42 saves last year has a 162 ERA so far in 2026, and is someone to be worried about going forward. Royals should be worried about Carlos Estevez "The biggest concern, however, is Carlos Estevez of the Kansas City Royals, who led the majors with 42 saves last season but had an all-time stinker on Saturday," Schoenfield writes.
That Saturday outing was the concern for Estevez coming to fruition. As Schoenfield noted, those concerns before the season were his velocities from Spring Training. "Estevez's velocity was down in spring training, and his fastball averaged just 91.