Royals' Carlos Estevez: Velocity still down
Estevez allowed no hits and three walks with no strikeouts across a scoreless inning in Wednesday's Cactus League loss to the Rangers.
Estevez made his return to Cactus League play after tossing an inning for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic and didn't allow a run, though the outing was far from sharp. The right-hander entered in the sixth inning and promptly walked the first two batters he faced on nine pitches, eventually loading the bases via free passes before inducing a weak groundout from Jake Burger to escape the frame unscathed. As was the case in his earlier spring appearances, Estevez's velocity remained significantly down, with his fastball averaging 89.0 mph after sitting at 95.9 mph last season, while his offspeed offerings were also down several ticks. The veteran is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he recorded a career-high and league-best 42 saves with a 2.45 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 54:22 K:BB across 67 outings and is in line to handle closing duties for the Royals again in 2026, though his diminished velocity is a key factor to monitor moving forward.
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