Royals bullpen hit with another injury. Here’s the club’s plan moving forward
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- Royals placed Nick Mears on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder impingement.
- Kansas City recalled Eric Cerantola from Triple-A Omaha for a second stint.
- The Royals bullpen is missing closer Carlos Estèvez, Matt Strahm and now Nick Mears.
The Kansas City Royals placed right-handed pitcher Nick Mears on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement.
Mears has ealt with the injury over the last week. He didn’t recover well from his latest outing on Wednesday against the New York Yankees.
In the game, Mears allowed three earned runs in two-thirds of an inning. He has given up eight runs and issued four walks across his last five appearances.
Mears got additional testing and is awaiting results to determine the severity of the injury. Royals manager Matt Quatraro noted that Mears felt fine pitching, but discomfort settled in during the recovery afterward.
“He got an image today,” Quatraro said. “We’re waiting for that to be read and then meet with the doctor. So we don’t have a whole lot of information yet until we know what (the doctor) has to say. (Mears) wasn’t recovering well enough to keep going.”
In a corresponding move, the Royals recalled right-hander Eric Cerantola from Triple-A Omaha.
Cerantola returns for a second stint with the Royals. He owned a 1.37 ERA and seven saves across 18 appearances with the Omaha Storm Chasers.
“You know, the first time, obviously, you got all the phone calls, and it was obviously a super special moment,” Cerantola said of his MLB debut earlier this season.
“But now, I got my feet wet, and now it’s business. (Just) going out there and giving the team what they need and doing my part. So that’s my mindset going into, you know, this stretch. Just fill it up and do whatever they need.”
There figures to be opportunity available. Cerantola will join a beleaguered KC bullpen. The club is missing closer Carlos Estèvez, high-leverage reliever Matt Strahm and now Mears.
The injuries also stretch to the starting rotation. Both Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic are sidelined with elbow injuries.
“Well, the stuff is impressive,” Quatraro said of Cerantola’s pitching. “You know, the breaking ball is really good. He can get righties and lefties out. And I think what he took away from the last time here was stay on the attack.”
The Royals will face the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Globe Life Field. Cerantola will be available out of the bullpen for the game.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Royals bullpen hit with another injury. Here’s the club’s plan moving forward."
