Royals Bolster Roster for Final Month of Season
The Kansas City Royals have made strategic moves to their roster to strengthen themselves for the final month of the season. The team has activated their star prospect, Jac Caglianone, from the injured list and promoted Carter Jensen, their second-ranked prospect, from Triple-A Omaha. In addition, the team placed Jonathan India on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left wrist and called up reliever Luinder Avila from Omaha to reinforce the bullpen. The Royals enjoyed a day off on Monday before starting a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. At the start of the day, they were three games out of the last American League Wild Card spot, held by the Seattle Mariners. Caglianone, 22, was called up to the team at the beginning of the season in the hope of boosting Kansas City’s offense. However, a hamstring injury kept him out of action from July 27. During his absence, the Royals acquired outfielders Adam Frazier, Randal Grichuk and Mike Yastrzemski, which could reduce Caglianone’s role on the team. Despite this, Caglianone provides power off the bench. After some struggles in his first stint in the Major Leagues, he had been hitting well in Omaha. During his rehab assignment, he hit .385 with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 16 games.Jensen, also 22 years old, was selected in the third round of the first-year player draft. He started the year in Double-A Northwest Arkansas and was promoted to Omaha, where he batted .288 with 14 home runs and 39 RBIs in just 43 games, earning him a selection for the Future Stars Game. The Royals sent backup catcher Freddy Fermin to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline, leaving Luke Maile as the backup to veteran Salvador Pérez. However, Maile is batting just .200 with one home run and three RBIs in 17 games, which could give Jensen a chance behind the plate as the Royals look for a second straight playoff berth. India, who did not play over the weekend, is batting .232 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. Frazier and Michael Massey are expected to get the most playing time at second base during his absence. Avila, 24 years old, made his major league debut earlier this season with a perfect inning on August 13 against Washington.“It’s pretty evident that he’s strong enough and can hit the ball with enough force to succeed,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo recently told reporters. “Trying to evaluate that is difficult, but he’s doing the same thing he was doing before he was called up last time.”
J.J. Picollo
