Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia suffered an injury on Thursday.
The Kansas City Royals won their fifth straight game on Thursday, finishing off a sweep of the Athletics. In what has been a deeply disappointing season, the start of their homestand has been nice to see for Royals faithful.
Unfortunately, the win came at a cost as the Royals lost third baseman Maikel Garcia to another injury. The 26-year-old exited Thursday's game while rounding third base in the first inning, marking just his fourth game back after missing 46 straight games with a left hand muscle strain. He had barely made it back before his body gave out again.
Unfortunately, he is heading right back to the 10-day injured list. "Matt Quatraro says Maikel Garcia likely to go on the IL with a hamstring strain tomorrow," wrote Royals reporter Joel Goldberg.
With Garcia heading back down, Nick Loftin may see an increase in playing time at third base, with John Rave seeing more opportunities in the outfield as well. Neither represents a long-term solution, but Kansas City is not in playoff contention and can afford to give other options some playing time down the stretch.
This latest setback only continues what has been a deeply frustrating season for Garcia. He broke out during the 2025 season, posting one of the best years of any third baseman in baseball, earning his first Gold Glove Award and first All-Star selection while putting together a career-best offensive campaign.
That success has not translated this year. Across 73 games when available, Garcia hit just .269 with a .324 on-base percentage and .709 OPS, with just three home runs and 32 RBIs.
However, it may not fall entirely on Garcia, as part of that sample he was clearly trying to play through the left hand injury that likely affected his ability to drive the ball with his usual authority. With the Royals struggling during the first half, Garcia gave everything he had.
Garcia signed a five-year, $57.5 million contract extension back in December of 2025, so he is firmly committed to Kansas City for years to come and should anchor the left side of the infield alongside Bobby Witt Jr. long term.
It is unclear how severe the hamstring strain is, but with little time remaining in the 2026 season it could potentially prove to be season-ending. Manager Matt Quatraro will likely provide further updates on Garcia's condition when speaking to reporters before Friday's series opener against the Detroit Tigers.
