Predicting which Royals player will lose roster spot when Jac Caglianone returns

The Kansas City Royals have seemingly been dealing with injury after injury, with no facet of their active roster going unharmed.

While the pitching staff have held the brunt of the injuries, the lineup has not been immune either. The most notable bat to head to the injured list recently was rookie phenom Jac Caglianone.

The outfielder has been shelved since July 27 with a hamstring ailment but according to Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg on Friday, manager Matt Quatraro said that Caglianone is doing well in his recovery and should be nearing a rehab assignment sometime in the next week.

Now, it seems as though, Mark Canha could be the first offensive name back from the IL, after beginning his rehab assignment on Saturday night in Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That being said, it’s never a bad idea to look ahead and ask how the lineup may shakeout once a lineup staple like Caglianone comes back.

So, when that time comes for him to grace the Royals lineup with his presence again, who might be the name on the chopping block?

4 Royals players who could lose their roster spot when Jac Caglianone returns

OF John Rave

This seems like the most obvious here, as between holding the same position as Caglianone – one that has been strengthened significantly since he hit the IL with the arrivals of Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk – along with just overall poor perfromance, Rave’s days look more numbered than ever.

While he may be sporting a 111 wRC+ in the second-half, the month of August has seen Rave revert back into the extremely undproductive hitter he’s been for the majority of the time he’s been in the majors. Since August 1, Rave is sporting .231/.286/.231 slash line with a 46 wRC+.

For the season, he’s hitting under the Mendoza Line with a .186 AVG along with just three homers, 12 RBI, a .599 OPS and a 68 wRC+ in 126 plate appearances across 51 games.

With more accomplished hitters and others like Caglianone, who’ve also struggled but have immense prospect pedigree, it’s much harder to see Rave getting playing time over them.

UTIL Tyler Tolbert

Moving to Tolbert, it’s no secret that he’s underperformed as whole this season at the major league level. In 26 plate appearances, he’s hitting just .240 with a .629 OPS and a 71 wRC+.

Now, it’s not entirely his fault, as it’s much easier to get hot when you’re actually getting chances to play, which Tolbert hasn’t been to this point, as his total games played exceeds his plate appearance total this season.

This is due to the fact he has blistering speed – which has proven to be an asset for the Royals this season as they have struggled immensly as team in the baserunning department in 2025 – but he hasn’t offered much else.

Now, his speed, along with his positional versatility as well as some recent moments of timely hitting, when he has gotten opportunities at the dish, could motivate the Royals to keep him up.

That being said, it also wouldn’t be a shock to see him get optioned back down to Triple-A, simply to get more opportunity to grow as a hitter, because if he can inch closer to a league average bat with his other promising tools, Tolbert could become a very valuable bench piece for this team moving forward.

UTIL Nick Loftin

Then we have Loftin, who like Tolbert provides some value in his versatility as a utility man. However, from an offensive standpoint, he doesn’t offer the Royals much.

So far this season, he’s slashing just .207/.242/.364 with three homers, 14 RBI and just a 60 wRC+ in 129 plate appearances.

There was once a point in early July where Loftin was coming through in major ways at the plate and looked to be carving out a regular role in the lineup. However, since the All-Star break, the 26-year-old is hitting just .240 with .520 OPS and 37 wRC+ in 26 plate appearances.

Since there’s other utility men on the roster to hold down Loftin’s role already – the most notable being Adam Frazier – there seems to be little reason to continue to justify Loftin’s presence off the bench.

OF/1B Mark Canha

Finally, for the more unconventional mention on this list, is the player the Royals just sent on a rehab assignment.

Canha, has simply not been the veteran presence in the lineup the Royals likely anticipated he would be when they traded for him just days before Opening Day.

He was an above average hitter, in the eyes of wRC+, in his previous seven seasons in the majors, but this season has only mustered a .212/.272/.265 slash line with one home run, six RBI and a putrid 46 wRC+ in 125 plate appearances.

Considering Canha doesn’t have options like the other three names listed do, that could help his case to stay put. That being said, with how poor he’s been for the Royals, it may be time for them to cut their losses and cut ties with him altogether, as with the corner outfield and first base all but covered now, his path to playing time seems uphill.