The 23-year-old right fielder exited Wednesday's matchup against the Athletics during the fifth inning, but appears to be unfazed.
Jac Caglianone went just 1-for-1 at the plate during the Kansas City Royals' third matchup against the Athletics on Wednesday, exiting the game during the fifth inning with right ankle soreness, an issue that also hampered him this past weekend against the Los Angeles Angels.
He would aggravate it on Wednesday while sprinting to reach first base an infield single during the first as the Royals stared down a 2-0 deficit after Jeff McNeil drove in Henry Bolte with an RBI double and McNeil scored himself off an RBI single by Zack Gelof.
However, Caglianone told the media that he is not perturbed by the injury and expects a quick return to action.
"Just kind of been nagging for a little bit," Caglianone said, according to MLB.com. "Felt it a little when I ran today, a little bit more than the last couple of days. So just trying to be cautious with it...not too worried about it, to be honest. Should be back in here pretty soon."
Even as Caglianone did not have the night he hoped for, the rest of Kansas City's lineup stepped up to secure a 9-7 victory and the series win.
Franchise home run leader Salvador Perez got things started in the fourth, driving in Vinnie Pasquantino for the team's first run of the game.
The A's refused to back down though as Bolte and McNeil drove in two more runners with a pair of RBI singles. Bolte reached home as well and increased the lead to 5-1 when Gelof grounded into a fielder's choice at second.
Nonetheless, Pasquantino responded in the sixth, crushing a solo home run to right field while also bringing home Maikel García in the eighth and scoring off another RBI single by Kyle Isbel.
The Royals' continued small-ball strategy paid dividends as the team erupted for five more runs when Perez reached home to tie the matchup at 5-5 off a sacrifice fly by Isaac Collins.
John Rave, who pinch hit for Caglianone in the fifth, joined in the action with a clutch RBI double that put the Royals ahead 8-5 as three runners in Tyler Tolbert, Bobby Witt Jr. and Isbel came home.
Rave capped it all off, reaching home off an RBI single by García.
Max Muncy would attempt to spark a final rally with a two-run shot in the ninth, but it was not enough when Bolte grounded out to end the game.
While manager Matt Quatraro has decided to leave Caglianone out of this afternoon's lineup, he echoed Caglianone's sentiment about the severity, or lack thereof, regarding the ankle issue.
"We’re just trying to be cautious, to be honest, because we don’t want something bigger to come up," Quatraro said.
Afterward, the Royals will remain at Kauffman Stadium to host the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers on Friday at 8:10 p.m. EDT, giving Caglianone and the team ample time to assess where he stands.
