The Kansas City Royals lost their third straight game on Wednesday to the Boston Red Sox, suffering a series sweep. The offense continued to struggle, totaling just five runs across the three-game set. They were also shorthanded.
During the final game of the series, one player was noticeably absent from the outfield in Lane Thomas. While Thomas does not always start every day, his absence was injury related and not because of a platoon advantage.
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Before the game, manager Matt Quatraro spoke with reporters and shared that Thomas was dealing with an issue.
“#Royals Matt Quatraro said Lane Thomas is dealing with a sore hamstring,” reported Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star.
Quatraro added that the injury is considered minor and that Thomas was available off the bench if needed. The Royals ultimately did not use him, and with the team off on Thursday, he received another day of rest. Kansas City is hopeful Thomas will be back in the lineup on Friday for the series opener against the Seattle Mariners.
Both Thomas and the Royals need to find answers quickly. Kansas City has struggled throughout the month of May and now sits 10 games under .500 at 20-30. They have lost 11 of their last 14 games. If they do not turn the year around soon, they could once again find themselves in the position of being sellers at the trade deadline.
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This is Thomas’ first season with the Royals, and it has been a difficult one. Through 39 games, he has posted a .209 batting average, .352 on-base percentage, .619 OPS, one home run and nine RBIs.
He signed a one year, $5.25 million contract in the offseason with the expectation that he would help improve the outfield. While he has stayed healthy, he has been a liability at the plate.
The Royals took a gamble on Thomas because of how productive he was with the Washington Nationals in the first half of 2024. However, he struggled with the Cleveland Guardians over the past two seasons and dealt with multiple injuries that kept him out of the lineup for months.
Kansas City hoped a fresh start would help him regain form, but so far the move has not paid off. The Royals need Thomas healthy and contributing, and Friday will be the next chance to see if he is ready to return and if he is able to do that.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
