Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel continued his Minor League rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday as he nears his return to the Major League club after being sidelined by plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
Isbel, who has been on the injured list since June 10, has played in six rehab games so far with Triple-A Omaha and is ramping up his workload, especially in center field as he gets ready for a return that could come as soon as the first week of August when the Royals return home after their road trip.
Here’s what you need to know:
How did Isbel perform?
Isbel went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Tuesday while playing seven innings in the field. In 18 rehab at-bats, Isbel is slashing .222/.333/.444 with two doubles, three strikeouts and three walks.
What’s next?
Because he’s been out for more than a month, Isbel needs a good amount of at-bats and workload in the field before he can return to the Royals, so it’s likely he stays on his rehab assignment through the end of July. Isbel is now increasing the number of innings he plays in center field, allowing him to be fully ready to take over the position again in the big leagues.
What they’re saying
When he was placed on the IL in early June, Isbel said that the key to his recovery would be managing the inflammation, and so the timetable for a return was uncertain. Now that he’s back on the field in game action, the key will be to keep from reaggravating the foot.
“It’s just getting the inflammation down, and then there’s not really a timetable on it,” Isbel said. “Just more symptom-based. … Just a lot of pressure in the bottom of my foot.”
What else?
When Isbel returns to the Royals, he’ll hope to turn his season around over the final two months and recapture his form at the plate over the first month of the season. At the end of April, he owned a .292/.354/.458 slash line with three home runs and five steals. But from May 1 through June 9, he posted a .525 OPS.
This article originates at MLB.com/Royals.
