When the Kansas City Royals first called up power-hitting rookie outfielder Jac Caglianone, they were desperate for offense.
Unfortunately, Caglianone wasn’t able to give the Royals the power boost they needed, slumping to a .485 OPS in 41 games before landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain. But he looks just about ready to go, and he’s been crushing the ball on his rehab assignment. So, he should be back soon, right?
Not so fast, as MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers recently explained.
Though a rehab assignment can be no longer than 20 days, Rogers hinted that the Royals are in no hurry to bring Caglianone back, especially because his 20th day would be Sept. 1, when rosters expand to 28 players instead of 26.
“The evaluation process for when (Caglianone is) ready will be similar to how the Royals determined whether he was ready the first time with the added knowledge of what he struggled with in the big leagues between June and July,” wrote Rogers.
Caglianone is 11-for-20 with two home runs so far on his rehab stint, but he crushed minor-league pitching the last time around. Can they prove things are different this time?
Kansas City also has three options remaining on Caglianone, so they can keep him down in Triple-A past that Sept. 1 cutoff if they really feel he’s not ready. The Triple-A season ends on Sept. 21, but it’s rare that a player called up around that date would be in consideration for a playoff roster.
And that’s the rub here — the Royals are now fighting for the playoffs. Their fourth win in a row moved them to 64-61 on Monday night, 3 1/2 games back of all three teams — the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox — currently in wild card position.
Plus, manager Matt Quatraro pointed out that since Caglianone’s injury in late July, the team has brought in two new, veteran outfielders in Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski.
“The team dynamic here has changed since he got hurt,” Quatraro said last week, per Rogers. “He’s going to have to keep playing, and when something opens up, he’s certainly in consideration to come back.”
Long-term, the Royals still expect Caglianone to become a star, and they have to treat his development with the utmost care. But would giving him consistent major league at-bats possibly get in the way of wins that could determine a playoff berth?
More MLB: Royals Cut Bait With 11-Year MLB Veteran After Disappointing Stint In KC
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
