KANSAS CITY — Maikel Garcia just returned from the injured list on Monday after missing 46 games with a left hand muscle strain. Now, it appears he’s headed back to the IL with another injury.
As Garcia rounded third base in the bottom of the first inning in Thursday afternoon’s 6-2 win over the A’s, he pulled up and immediately hopped around, grabbing his left hamstring in pain. Garcia walked off the field slowly and gingerly as A’s third baseman Max Muncy followed him to record the fielder’s choice out.
In the top of the second inning, Nick Loftin moved from right field to third base, and John Rave entered the game in right field. The Royals announced that Garcia exited with a left hamstring injury. Manager Matt Quatraro clarified that an MRI exam showed it was a strain.
“He got it pretty good,” Quatraro said. “He’s likely to go on the IL tomorrow. … Frustrating for him and for us, but for him primarily just coming back after such a long absence. Injuries are tough, and they’re tough mentally. He likes to play, and he wants to be out there. Just getting back and getting rolling, he was having success. Really feel for him.”
Garcia was sidelined on June 23 with the left hand injury, something he had been dealing with for a while prior to being placed on the IL. But this is not the first hamstring issue Garcia has sustained this year; he strained his right hamstring on May 30 in Texas and missed six games that week, avoiding the IL.
The Royals had been buoyed this week by the return of Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino from the IL for their series against the A’s at Kauffman Stadium, and for good reason. Both have made an immediate impact: Including Thursday’s series finale, the two combined to go 13-for-30 (.433) with five runs, five extra-base hits and five RBIs. Garcia had doubled in the bottom of the first before his exit that inning.
