The Kansas City Royals are looking to get Maikel Garcia back into the mix before the season ends.
The Kansas City Royals salvaged the series finale at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday after dropping the first two games. It has been a tough year for Kansas City overall and they now own a 65-82 record as they embark on a road trip this Friday heading to Fenway Park to face the Boston Red Sox.
Even in a lost season the Royals should feel confident about their future. While the pitching staff is certainly a mess, they do have multiple pieces under team control in the lineup heading into 2027.
One of those players is third baseman Maikel Garcia, who signed a five-year contract extension that keeps him with the club through the 2030 season. He also has a club option potentially extending his stay through 2031.
The expectation heading into this year was that Garcia would build on his 2025 All-Star breakout and establish himself as one of the best third basemen in the American League.
Instead it has been a difficult year on multiple fronts. His performance has taken a step backward, and across 73 games the 26-year-old has posted a .269 batting average, .324 on-base percentage, .709 OPS, three home runs and 32 RBIs.
His power has vanished after hitting 16 home runs a year ago, though a large portion of his at-bats came while battling through a left hand injury that affected his ability to drive the ball consistently.
The biggest problem has simply been his inability to stay on the field. He first dealt with a right hamstring strain earlier in the year. Then, a left hand muscle strain kept him out for nearly two months before he returned on August 17. Just three days later on August 20 he suffered another hamstring strain, this time on his left side, and has been sidelined ever since.
Fortunately, this hamstring stint does not appear to be too serious, and Garcia is nearing his return with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.
"We anticipate INF Maikel Garcia and RHP Connor Seabold will begin rehab assignments tomorrow with Omaha," the Royals wrote on X this past Wednesday.
For Garcia, when he comes back it will be about finding some good moments and finishing the year on a positive note, hoping to carry that momentum into what should be a much healthier and more productive 2027 season. The talent that made him an All-Star is still in there, and getting back on the field gives him the chance to rediscover it.
