KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A dominant left-hander from the Mexican League is joining the Kansas City Monarchs for their 2025 playoff run.

Julio Robaina, a former Astros prospect who had a 3.17 ERA for Tigres de Quintana Roo this season, has signed with the four-time league champions. He will start Thursday night’s game with the Milwaukee Milkmen at Legends Field.

Robaina arrives in Kansas City after Monarchs pitcher Julian Garcia had his contract transferred to the Reds organization. Teams in the American Association aren’t typically allowed to add players this late in the season, but the Monarchs were able to add a new pitcher to fill Garcia’s spot in the rotation.

“We think Julio is a solid arm that’s going to fit really nicely with our ball club,” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “He’s a competitor who’s pitched at a high level; he’s a high-velocity strike thrower with a great four-pitch mix. We’re fortunate to have him on our team.”

Robaina, 24, is in his seventh professional season. He briefly pitched in Triple-A with the Astros in 2024, spending most of that season with Double-A Corpus Christi. He played winter ball in Venezuela with Caracas in the 2024-25 season.

The Cuban-born southpaw threw 71 innings with Quintana Roo in 2025 over 16 games (12 starts), striking out over a batter per inning.

Robaina made his pro debut in 2018. He owns a 4.42 ERA and 9.5 K/9 across his professional career.

The Monarchs (56-39) have clinched a playoff spot in the American Association West. Their first playoff game is scheduled for Wednesday, September 3. The game’s time, location and opponent are still to be determined.

GENEVA, Ill. — Grant Gambrell threw four scoreless innings in his return form injury, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Kansas City Monarchs’ winning streak alive.

The Kane County Cougars pulled ahead late to top the Monarchs 2-1 in the first game of their three-game series from Northwestern Medicine Field. The Monarchs, who had won four in a row, are still 5-2 on their three-city road trip.

Ross Adolph homered for the Monarchs’ only run in the top of the second. The 394-foot shot was his sixth of the season.

Gambrell allowed just three hits and one walk in his four innings of work. He struck out three in his first outing in exactly one month.

Patrick Pridgen took over on the mound, retiring the first six batters he faced.

Kane County broke through in the seventh inning. Claudio Finol hit an RBI double to tie the score and came around with the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly from Josh Allen.

Kansas City pitchers threw a combined 25 straight scoreless innings before the seventh inning Friday, a streak dating back to Tuesday night’s game at Milwaukee.

Jack Fox threw six innings of one-run baseball to set the tone for the Cougars. Zach Veen, Casey Crosby and Jake Gozzo each put up zeroes in the final three innings.

UP NEXT

Game two between the Monarchs and Cougars is scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Julian Garcia will take the mound for the first time since setting the Monarchs’ single-season strikeout record. Westin Muir will get the ball for Kane County. Fans can tune in on The Bet KC 1660 AM and the Audacy app.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Jorge Bonifacio hit his fourth home run in five games on a 3-for-5 night at the plate to push the Kansas City Monarchs to a 10-inning 4-2 win over the Sioux Falls Canaries Friday night from Sioux Falls Stadium

The former Kansas City Royal was a triple shy of the cycle in the effort. His solo home run in the top of the 10th provided key insurance for Kansas City in the series-opening win.

All three of the former major leaguers in Kansas City’s lineup had big nights. Blake Rutherford went 2-for-5 with an RBI out of the cleanup spot. John Nogowski finished the night 3-for-4 with an RBI of his own.

The win moves Kansas City (46-33) a game closer to Sioux City for first place in the American Association West Division. The Monarchs are tied with Fargo-Moorhead for second place, five games back of the Explorers.

Bonifacio sparked the Monarchs offense early, lining a double to left in the first inning. Rutherford singled him home one batter later.

The Monarchs doubled their lead in the fourth on a pair of doubles by Rutherford and Nogowski.

Monarchs starter Ashton Goudeau retired the first nine men he faced before Joe Vos homered to lead off the fourth. Vos’ second home run as a pro made it a 2-1 game.

Goudeau exited after five innings of work, allowing one run on two hits. He walked one and struck out five.

Canaries starter Ryan Zimmerman tossed seven innings of two-run baseball, allowing six hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

Cruz Noriega threw scoreless sixth and seventh innings in his second outing as a Monarch.

Sioux Falls tied the game in the eighth on an RBI single by Josh Rehwaldt off Kansas City relever Steffon Moore. Moore prevented further damage, striking out Peter Zimmerman with two men in scoring position to end the threat.

The game went to extras after a scoreless ninth. Jeff Hakanson retired three of the four men he faced in the inning for Kansas City.

Micah Pries drove in bonus runner Josh Bissonette with a sacrifice fly to give the Monarchs a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th. Bonifacio’s two-out home run provided key insurance.

Hunter McMahon pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning to earn his 10th save.

UP NEXT

Kansas City and Sioux Falls meet Saturday evening at 5:35 p.m. for the middle game of their three-game series. Cade Torgerson will start for the Canaries against Kansas City’s Patrick Pridgen. Fans can watch the game on AABaseball.TV and Facebook Live.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An All-Star catcher and former Royals prospect is joining the Kansas City Monarchs for the stretch run.

Saul Garza, who played in last year’s Mexican League All-Star Game, comes to Kansas City on loan from LMB’s Veracruz.

The 27-year-old is in his fifth pro season. He signed with the Royals out of LSU in 2020 and reached Triple-A with the organization in 2022. He’s played the last three seasons in the Mexican League.

Across 38 LMB games so far this season, Garza sports a .257 average and .912 OPS with eight home runs and 22 RBIs.

“Saul Garza is a really good player with a great pedigree who’s played many years at a high level,” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “We think his skill set will be really effective for us moving ahead in to the stretch run. We’re excited to see him play for our ball club.”

A native of Edinburg, Texas, Garza made his college debut at Howard College, hitting .378 with 23 home runs and earning all-region honors.

That landed him a spot with LSU, one of the top programs in America. He hit .303 with the Tigers in 2019 with an .834 OPS in 50 games. That included impressive performances in the SEC Tournament and Baton Rouge Regional, where he was named to both events’ All-Tournament teams.

Garza, whose first name is pronounced sa-OOL, joined the Royals organization in 2020 as an undrafted free agent. The MLB Draft that season was shortened to just five rounds due to the pandemic.

Over 85 games in the Royals system, Garza sports a .240 batting average, .681 OPS, three home runs, 21 doubles and three stolen bases. He played two games with Triple-A Omaha in 2022, his final season with the organization.

Garza batted .276 with an .826 OPS in 2024 between two Mexican League teams, earning him his All-Star nod.

In a corresponding move, Monarchs catcher Joshuan Sandoval was released Tuesday.

The Monarchs (40-29) enter a crucial road series with the Sioux City Explorers starting Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. from Lewis and Clark Park. Fans can tune in on The Bet KC 1660 AM and the Audacy app.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Kansas City metro native is moving from the Kansas City Monarchs to a new chapter in the baseball world. 

Monarchs reliever Tyler McKay has signed with Puebla in the Mexican League, the Monarchs announced Saturday.

McKay is the 13th Monarchs player to sign with an affiliated or Mexican League team since the end of the 2024 season. Former Monarchs outfielder Lorenzo Cedrola will be McKay’s teammate in Puebla.

“When we signed Tyler McKay, we knew we were getting something special right off the bat,” Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra said. “Then when we got him in house, we saw he was a special person in addition to his special ability.”

McKay was a dependable presence in the Monarchs’ bullpen, using an effective sinker and an array of breaking pitches to generate weak contact. 

The right-hander converted on all seven of his save opportunities. He earned a 2.40 ERA across 15 appearances, striking out 15 and walking four across 15 innings of work.

“Him having an opportunity to pitch in his hometown was very special for him, and very special for us,” Calfapietra said. “We’re happy to be a part of this success story. We think he still has major-league talent, and I think this is just a part of his story, moving up the chain and getting to where his ultimate goal is, to pitch in the major leagues.”

Born in Lee’s Summit, McKay attended Blue Springs South High School. He played at Kansas State his freshman season before transferring to Howard College, where he was a starting pitcher in 2018. 

The Phillies drafted McKay in the 16th round in 2018; he made his pro debut later that year. He made his High-A debut in 2021 and reached Double-A for the first time in 2022. 

McKay’s first Triple-A appearance came in 2023. Across 52 appearances at that level (all in relief), he owns a 2.97 ERA and 8.3 K/9 across 60.2 innings of work. 

The Monarchs (22-13) have the second-best record in the American Association. They return home to Legends Field Friday June 27 for KU Night and Saturday June 28 for Ted Lasso Night. Tickets are available now at Tickets.MonarchsBaseball.com. See the Monarchs’ full schedule here.