Maikel Garcia, do Royals, dia a dia com dor no cotovelo direito

Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia is considered day-to-day after exiting Wednesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles with right-elbow soreness.

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Garcia, 26, is not in Friday’s starting lineup. The Royals will take a cautious approach ahead of their series opener against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium.

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“We’ve been doing treatment and ice,” Garcia said pregame. “I feel better and am able to come off the bench to run or hit or play defense.”

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Garcia is hopeful to start on Saturday. He felt discomfort — to which he compared to a cramp — in his elbow. He admitted to playing careful in Wednesday’s game to avoid aggravating the injury.

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The initial pain occurred while he swung the bat. He also experienced more discomfort throwing the baseball and was removed from the game.

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“I didn’t want to get another at-bat playing careful,” Garcia said. “So just take me out of the game and do my treatment and feel better for this game.”

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The Royals shifted their batting order in Garcia’s 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.

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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.

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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.

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“He probably will not throw pregame just to play it safe,” Quatraro said. “But, he is definitely going to swing and take ground balls.”

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Garcia had his right forearm wrapped before the game. He said the discomfort began on Wednesday. However, it’s not the first time Garcia has dealt with an elbow injury.

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Last offseason, Garcia had a minor procedure to remove an elbow spur in his right elbow. The injury didn’t cost him any significant time as he played 160 games.