The Royals will lose their RBI machine down the stretch.
The Royals announced today that first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has a broken thumb and will miss 6-8 weeks. He sustained the injury when a throw from Lucas Erceg led him into a collision with baserunner Yainer Diaz in last night’s game against the Astros. Pasquantino immediately fell to the ground in pain and exited the game. The 26-year-old is hitting .262/.315/.446 with 19 home runs and is third in the American League with 97 RBI. The Royals announced that more tests will be done, but a timeline of 6-8 weeks likely ends his season.
The Royals have not announced a corresponding roster move, and they do have two other first basemen on the 40-man roster, however neither Nick Pratto nor C.J. Alexander has played in the last week for Omaha. Pratto is hitting .236/.324/.404 with 14 home runs and a 29.7 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A, while Alexander is hitting .303/.352/.554 with 16 home runs. Infielder Nick Loftin also has some experience at first base, and is hitting .331/.422/.509 with 6 home runs in 46 games for Omaha.
The most likely scenario is the Royals move Salvador Perez to first base the remainder of the season and make Freddy Fermin the primary catcher. Catcher Austin Nola is an MLB veteran and is already on the 40-man roster, although he is hitting just .150/.240/.293 in 45 games for Omaha.
A number of MLB veterans were placed on waivers by teams out of contention this week in attempts to save money, and could provide opportunities for the Royals to pick up depth for nothing. Infielder Thairo Estrada, and outfielders Tommy Pham, Travis Jankowski, and Robbie Grossman are among the veteran hitters currently on waivers. Waiver priority is in reverse order of the current standings (not separated by league) and the claiming team is obligated to pay the remainder of the contract. Players must be on a 40-man roster by August 31 to be eligible for a post-season roster.
Contending Royals teams are no stranger to major injuries. In 2014, the Royals lost starting first baseman Eric Hosmer for the entire month of August, and the 2015 Royals lost left fielder Alex Gordon and pitcher Danny Duffy for a month, starting pitcher Jason Vargas for most of the year, and closer Greg Holland for the entire season.
