Luinder Avila

May 30, 2026

Starting Monday

Manager Matt Quatraro said Saturday that Avila will join the Royals' rotation and start Monday's game against the Reds, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Analysis

With Cole Ragans (elbow) set to spend more time on the injured list than the Royals originally expected following a setback, Kansas City will turn to Avila to temporarily fill the fifth spot in the rotation. The 24-year-old righty struggled to find his footing in the majors early in the season but has settled in as of late, posting a 3.14 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 14.1 frames since the beginning of May. He likely won't be able to handle a full starter's workload Monday after throwing just 67 pitches over three frames during his last outing, and he'll also be tasked with taking on a Reds lineup that's posted a .742 OPS across its last 10 games.