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Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia is considered day-to-day after exiting Wednesday\u2019s game against the Baltimore Orioles with right-elbow soreness<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Garcia, 26, is not in Friday\u2019s starting lineup. The Royals will take a cautious approach ahead of their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing treatment and ice,\u201d Garcia said pregame. \u201cI feel better and am able to come off the bench to run or hit or play defense.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Garcia is hopeful to start on Saturday. He felt discomfort \u2014 to which he compared to a cramp \u2014 in his elbow. He admitted to playing careful in Wednesday\u2019s game to avoid aggravating the injury.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The initial pain occurred while he swung the bat. He also experienced more discomfort throwing the baseball and was removed from the game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to get another at-bat playing careful,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cSo just take me out of the game and do my treatment and feel better for this game.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Royals shifted their batting order<\/a> in Garcia\u2019s absence. Nick Loftin will leadoff and play third base on Friday night. Meanwhile, Royals star Vinnie Pasquantino received an off day as Salvador Perez will slide to first base.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This season, Garcia is hitting .265 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. He has scored 14 runs and produced a .724 OPS (on-base plus slugging) in 25 games.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Garcia has some irritation throwing a baseball. He expects Garcia to go through his pregame work and take swings in the batting cage. From there, the Royals will evaluate the best game situation to use him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe probably will not throw pregame just to play it safe,\u201d Quatraro said. \u201cBut, he is definitely going to swing and take ground balls.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Garcia had his right forearm wrapped before the game. He said the discomfort began on Wednesday. However, it\u2019s not the first time Garcia has dealt with an elbow injury.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last offseason, Garcia had a minor procedure<\/a> to remove an elbow spur in his right elbow. The injury didn\u2019t cost him any significant time as he played 160 games.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n