Royals should be very concerned with $22M closer after 162.00 ERA start to season

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 91.2 mph against the Braves, down from 95.9 mph last year," Schoenfield writes. "That's a significant velocity drop.

The Royals righty reliever had some concerns about his velocity before the season, and those concerns came to fruition for what was effectively the worst possible outing for Estevez against the Braves.

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If Estevez cannot improve his velocity, then the Royals might be stuck with a $22 million closer who is throwing over four miles per hour slower than he did a year ago. That's a huge difference, especially for someone coming into the game in key spots like Estevez.

Lucas Erceg, Matt Strahm, or John Schreiber could all be used as closer replacements, which is something to monitor if Estevez cannot turn his season around with faster pitching and better save chances.

Between his roughly 4.7 mph drop in velocity, his 162.00 ERA in one outing, and his $22 million deal, Estevez is a major concern for the Royals this season.

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