Royals place 1B Vinnie Pasquantino on IL with fractured hamate in right hand

Vinnie Pasquantino became the second AL Central slugger to suffer a fractured hamate bone in his right hand on Saturday.

The Kansas City Royals first baseman left Saturday’s 8-7 loss to the Houston Astros in the fifth inning after popping out to third base.

Following the popout, Pasquantino appeared to be in obvious pain as he returned to the dugout. He soon went into the dugout tunnel toward the clubhouse without being checked by a trainer. The team announced that he would not return after suffering a right hand/hamate injury.

The injury occurred on the same day that Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez sustained a fractured hamate in his left hand.

Pasquantino was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday, but he will likely miss four to six weeks after undergoing surgery.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll and Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday each sustained similar injuries during spring training and took at least a month to return to the lineup. Carroll required about a month to recover, while Holliday took longer.

Pasquantino has a .224/.309/.350 slash average with 6 home runs, 10 doubles and 32 RBI. After poor production in April (.165 average, .595 OPS), the five-year veteran was improving in June with a .298/.365/.426 line.

Jac Caglianone took over at first base after Pasquantino left Saturday’s game and he’s getting the start at that position on Sunday. He played 10 games there as a rookie last season and five so far this year. Caglianone was primarily a first baseman in college, playing 85 games at first in two seasons at Florida.

Cole Ragans suffer setback in return from injury

Left-hander Cole Ragans appeared to be on course to return to the Royals’ rotation soon. But he suffered a setback in his recovery from left elbow impingement after throwing a bullpen session.

It’s the second time Ragans hasn’t recovered well following an outing during his rehab assignment. Following a rehab start on May 23, his left elbow didn’t feel right and he didn’t throw until this past Wednesday. Ragans has been on the IL since May 7.

The Royals put pitcher Seth Lugo on the 7-day concussion IL earlier this week after he took a line drive to the head in Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.

‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’

‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’