The Kansas City Royals infield has been shorthanded throughout the entire month of August.
The Kansas City Royals have been without half of their infield for the entire month of August. Third baseman Maikel Garcia has been sidelined since late June after suffering a left hand strain.
He attempted to play through the discomfort at first before shutting it down. In late July he was nearing a return but unfortunately suffered a setback during his rehab assignment, leading to a cortisone shot and a brief pause in baseball activities before being sent back out on another rehab stint.
Around that same time, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino went down for a second stint on the 10-day injured list with right hand and wrist soreness.
Pasquantino, like Garcia, had originally suffered an injury in June, fracturing his right hamate bone and undergoing surgery. He was actually able to return for a couple of weeks in July before going back down.
Fortunately, the Royals are getting both players back soon as both of their rehab assignments are nearing their end.
"Royals manager Matt Quatraro said both Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia are not playing today but are working out and will see how they feel after. Quatraro said if they're feeling good, there's a chance they can rejoin the Royals tomorrow," wrote MLB reporter Jack Janes.
While their returns are likely too late for Kansas City, which is all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it is still meaningful to get both players back and see what they are capable of in the final weeks.
Both Garcia and Pasquantino were crucial pieces of the lineup in 2025, yet when available this year both have been disappointing at the plate.
Garcia has posted just a .261 batting average, .320 on-base percentage, .693 OPS, three home runs and 30 RBIs across 268 at-bats. His power has depleted significantly just one year after he broke out and smashed 16 long balls.
As for Pasquantino, the 28-year-old has posted a .232 batting average, .318 on-base percentage, .663 OPS, six home runs and 33 RBIs, a huge drop-off in the power department after smashing a career-high 32 home runs last year.
However, given that both players were clearly playing through discomfort for much of the year, a fully healthy version of each could potentially rebound over the final weeks of what has been a lost season.
Kansas City opens a four-game set against the Athletics on Monday, and as Quatraro mentioned, both players could be back in the lineup by then.
