Royals option scuffling rookie to Triple-A in order to add more versatility to bench

The Kansas City Royals welcomed another injured name back into the fold ahead of Monday’s matchup against the Chicago White Sox.

The team announced that veteran second baseman and outfielder Michael Massey will be making his return to the roster after a roughly two-and-a-half month stint on the injured list with multiple setbacks.

In a corresponding move though, Kansas City is sending rookie outfielder John Rave back to Triple-A Omaha after a difficult week at the plate added to his already disappointing debut season as a whole.

While there’s no guarantee this move will bring the Royals an increase in offense, what this move does do is make the Royals’ bench more versatile.

Royals option John Rave to Triple-A to activate Michael Massey of IL

If you look at John Rave’s entire body of work this season, it’s not a shock that he finds himself on his way back to the confines of Werner Park.

In 156 plate appearances across 63 games with the Royals this season, the 27-year-old was slashing just .199/.286/.324 with a four homers, 13 RBI and a well below average 69 wRC+.

However, it was only a mere matter of weeks ago that the rookie outfielder looked to be flipping the script and possibly adjusting to the majors.

From August 6 to 17, Rave was statistically the Royals’ best hitter among players with 20 or more plate appearances in that timespan. He was sporting an incredible .450/.500/.650 slash line with a ridiculously high 221 wRC+.

Since then though, Rave has not managed to record a hit and struggled to find at-bats in recent days, gathering only four plate appearances in their most recent series against the Detroit Tigers this weekend.

With how strong Mike Yastrzemski, Randal Grichuk and Adam Frazier have looked since arriving ahead of the trade deadline, as well as the increased production of Kyle Isbel in center field, there hasn’t really been a need for another bench outfielder like Rave who can only play the outfield.

What never hurts to have on your bench though is positinally versatile utility men, which Massey will offer the Royals.

His ability to play second as well as the corner outfield gives him that extra bit value that Rave doesn’t have, even if he’s had his fair share of struggles at the plate this year.

Massey’s return to the majors wasn’t always a guarantee, as poor stretch in his August rehab stint wasn’t doing wonders in making up for his extremely poor 25 wRC+ performance he’d had in the majors before landing on the IL in early June.

In recent days though, Massey has turned up the heat a little bit in Omaha recording three-multi hit games in his last four, with a pair of homers and five RBI.

With how well the Royals’ aforementioned new outfielders have looked since joining the squad, as well as how improved Jonathan India has been at second base, he likely won’t have a stronghold on a starting spot like he’s had in the past.

However, similar to how Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert have stuck around, his versatility could be an asset to the team’s big league depth.