The Kansas City Royals are facing some tough news on the injury front, and it's shaping up to be a challenging stretch for the team's bullpen and rotation. Closer Carlos Estévez has been diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain after experiencing shoulder discomfort during his first rehab appearance on Wednesday. According to MLB.com's Anne Rogers, Estévez will be shut down for at least the next three weeks, putting his return on hold and leaving the Royals without their go-to arm for closing out games.

But the pitching concerns don't stop there. The team is also taking a cautious approach with left-hander Cole Ragans, who has been diagnosed with valgus extension overload (VEO)—commonly known as "pitcher's elbow." It's the same injury that sidelined Bailey Falter earlier this season, though Falter has been on a rehab assignment since April 15th, offering a glimmer of hope that Ragans might not be out for too long. Manager Matt Quatraro didn't confirm whether Ragans would be shut down for an extended period, noting that the Royals will evaluate him in the coming days to determine the next steps. For now, it's a wait-and-see game.

On the offensive side, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was candid about his struggles in Thursday's loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Despite feeling good about his overall at-bats, Pasquantino acknowledged that his two worst swings came at the worst possible times—with runners in scoring position. "You try not to focus too much on runners in scoring position, but it matters," he said. "It's the difference between winning and losing, and lately, I've been hurting the team when it comes to those things. I just got to be better, and I will be." It's a frustrating moment for a player who clearly holds himself to a high standard, and Royals fans will be hoping he can turn that corner soon.

In other Royals news, Missouri has approved a vaguely worded $80 million expenditure in its most recent budget, and some of that funding could go toward infrastructure development around the team's proposed new downtown stadium. A spokesperson for Governor Mike Kehoe clarified to the Kansas City Star that while the budget item isn't a direct earmark for the Royals, "a portion of the funding could be used to address public infrastructure needs arising from the proposed downtown stadium." It's a promising step for the stadium project, but with no firm commitments yet, the details remain as mysterious as the budget language itself.