By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Royals hoped rest would help avoid a stint on the injured list, but third baseman Maikel Garcia is heading to the 10-Day IL with a left hand muscle strain.
In a corresponding move, utility infielder Josh Rojas was recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Garcia missed three games at the end of last week due to hand soreness, which he said he has been dealing with for about a month, since the three game series in St. Louis. Garcia did return to the lineup on Sunday and Monday, serving as the shortstop in both games in place of the injured Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt Jr. will miss his fourth consecutive game tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays, still recovering from an MCL sprain suffered against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. As he did when Garcia was manning shortstop the past two games, Nick Loftin will start at third base again tonight, with utility man Tyler Tolbert getting the nod at shortstop.
Garcia was in visible pain after fouling off a pitch in his first plate appearance in last nights game against the Rays. Though he stayed in the game, he has said before that anything outside of clean contact caused pain when hitting. Garcia’s soreness dates back to the Royals’ series in St. Louis from May 15-17. It happened on a swing in the second game. Imaging taken shows a strain of his lumbrical muscles, which are located in the hand and are responsible for fine motor control and dexterity. While Garcia managed the pain, his performance took a hit at the plate. He was hitting just .227 in June with a .610 OPS and no home runs.
The 31 year old Rojas played two games earlier this month for Kansas City, while Stephen Kolek spent some time away from the team on family emergency leave, going 1-for-5 with a double, driving in two runs that helped win a game against the Minnesota Twins the day he was called up. The veteran has hit .251/.313/.445 in Triple-A this season while playing third base, second base and shortstop.
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