Matt Quatraro revealed the plan for Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
The Kansas City Royals have had a nightmare season. Despite winning Saturday's matchup with the Chicago Cubs, it marked just their 49th win of the year. The Royals have lost 69 games and sit 20 games below the .500 mark. Everything has gone wrong for the club, and while underperformance across the 40-man roster has played a role, so has unfortunate injury luck.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has dealt with both. When on the field this year, the 28-year-old left-handed slugger has struggled offensively, posting a .232 batting average, .318 on-base percentage, .663 OPS, six home runs and 33 RBIs across 79 games.
His power has evaporated almost instantaneously. In 2025 he launched 32 home runs and collected over 100 RBIs, and Kansas City's offense has missed that production this year. They have failed to provide run support for their pitching staff all season long.
Pasquantino fractured his right hamate bone on June 13 and underwent surgery a day later. He missed weeks recovering before returning in July. Unfortunately, it did not take long before he landed right back on the injured list with right wrist soreness due to lingering discomfort from the surgery while swinging.
This is a common theme with hitters who return too quickly, but Pasquantino clearly wanted to get back as soon as possible to try and salvage Kansas City's season.
Fortunately, the soreness has subsided and he is looking to make his return sooner this time. "Royals manager Matt Quatraro said first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino could head out on a rehab assignment on Tuesday. He will hit today and Sunday. If all goes well, he will head on a rehab stint," reported Jaylon T. Thompson of the Kansas City Star.
If Pasquantino progresses well enough to begin the rehab assignment, he may not need more than a handful of games in the minor leagues given how brief his absence has been.
When he gets back there will not be a sense of urgency given the Royals are in a lost season and will not be playing baseball in October. However, it would be meaningful to see him return to his prime form so the front office can feel confident heading into 2027.
That matters even more given Pasquantino is a free agent after the 2028 season, leaving time for extension conversations between him and the organization. The Royals would likely want to keep him long term, but he has to perform at a level that justifies that kind of commitment first.
