Carlos Estévez (shoulder) suffers another setback

It’s astounding Estévez didn’t wind up requiring surgery sooner. He dealt with persistent shoulder issues over the last few months after a disastrous spring training where his velocity was down significantly throughout. The odds of Estévez returning to a high-leverage role are extremely slim at this juncture.

The procedural move was made earlier on Monday to free up a spot on Kansas City’s roster for trade acquisition Connor Seabold. Estévez has started a throwing progression but isn’t remotely close to making it back from the injured list yet.

It’s a bit remarkable that Estévez has been cleared to resume throwing just a couple weeks after being shut down with shoulder discomfort. The 33-year-old’s fastball velocity will be monitored like the raptor pen in Jurassic Park once he heads out on another minor league rehab assignment. There’s a real possibility that he reclaims the closer role in Kansas City if he’s back throwing in the mid-90’s again. That won’t be clear for at least a couple weeks and fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back until the second half.

Estévez had been on a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Omaha where he exited Wednesday’s outing with shoulder discomfort after experiencing diminished velocity throughout the appearance. That’s not good. Even if he resumes throwing once this three-week period is up, it’s going to take him another couple of weeks to build back up and head back on a rehab assignment, pushing a return to the Royals’ bullpen way into the future. Lucas Erceg will continue to hold down the fort in the ninth inning for the foreseeable future.

Not good. Estévez’s fastball velocity was down noticeably, just like it was all throughout spring training, as he averaged just 90 mph on six fastball before leaving his rehab debut after 14 pitches. There’s clearly something going on here and the emergence of a shoulder issue helps explain his diminished velocity over the last few months. There should be an update on his status soon, but it doesn’t sound like Estévez is close to returning after this latest incident. It’ll be Lucas Erceg continuing to close for Kansas City.

Erceg walked one before getting Daniel Schneeman to ground out to end the game. Through 16 appearances, he has a 3.52 ERA and a 14/11 K/BB in 15 1/3 innings. He hasn’t been bad, but he’s definitely left the door open for Carlos Estévez to reclaim closing duties if Estévez’s velocity is back. Ideally, we would have found that out tonight, but Triple-A Omaha was rained out in what would have been his first rehab appearance.

The proverbial million dollar question is whether Estévez has a shot at reclaiming Kansas City’s closer role from Lucas Erceg, who has converted nine of 11 save opportunities this season. The 33-year-old hit the shelf with a foot contusion, after several weeks of diminished fastball velocity, back in early April. It’ll be fascinating to see if his fastball is back to last year’s levels during his rehab assignment.

The 33-year-old hurler threw off a mound once again on Friday without issue and it sounds like he’s finally close to seeing some live game action. It’s unclear how many outings he’ll require in a minor league setting before he’s cleared to rejoin the Royals’ bullpen. Lucas Erceg will continue to see the bulk of the save chances while Estévez is shelved.

That rehab assignment would be with Triple-A Omaha. Estévez was able to throw a bullpen session Thursday, and the 33-year-old has a chance to rejoin the Kansas City bullpen near the start of May after being shelved due to a foot contusion. The question will be what role Estévez has; but fantasy managers shouldn’t be surprised if he’s saving games again relatively soon.

It’s the first time that the 33-year-old hurler has thrown from a mound since being shelved on March 29 with a left foot contusion. Given the decline in velocity that Estévez exhibited throughout the spring and to start the regular season, expect that the Royals will want to see him back at his best before he’s activated from the injured list.