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KC Royals Injury Update: Alex Gordon To Miss Eight Weeks

By Joel Wagler

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The Kansas City Royals Gold Glove left fielder Alex Gordon will go on the DL, and will miss next week’s 2015 MLB All-Star Game.

Alex Gordon, who injured his groin Wednesday when he pulled up to avoid crashing into the left field wall while chasing a fly ball hit over his head for the Kansas City Royals, had to be carted off the field during the 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jeffrey Flannigan, who covers the KC Royals for MLB.com, tweeted earlier this morning that Gordon would in fact be put on the 15-day DL.

This piece of news isn’t very surprising but Flanagan then tweeted that Gordon would miss eight weeks. If that turns out to be the case, things could have been much worse.

Yost held court this morning and seemed to confirmed Flanagan’s information.

Now the Royals have to decide if they want to go with a Paulo Orlando/Jarrod Dyson platoon in left, or if they can go out and get someone. Neither Dyson or Orlando have any history of being every day players to this point.

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Dyson is a good fielder, earning a 10.4 Ultimate Zone Rating, according to Fangraphs, in limited playing time in 2013. He had a UZR of 18 last year, and 3.2 so far this year.

He had 14 Defensive Runs Saved, again according to Fangraphs, in 2014, and has four already this year. He can handle himself in the outfield. His assist at home plate on Wednesday night against the Rays, after he replaced Gordon, was a nice example.

There is a much smaller sample size for Orlando. He has a UZR of 2.8 so far in sporadic playing time, and has saved three runs defensively.

While neither are star offensive players, both other some nice things. Orlando hit five triples very early in the season, and he has two home runs, including the dramatic walk-off grand slam on Monday. He also can steal a few bases.

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Dyson’s best attribute on the offensive side of things is his blazing speed. He has 130 steals in his career as a part-time player, including ten so far this season. He doesn’t have much power, but if he can keep the ball low when he hits, he has a chance to beat out a lot of grounders.

The Kansas City Royals may want to explore the trade market for a starting outfielder. They have to already be considering some help at second base and for the rotation, but who knows who will be available, and at what price.

The Royals being the Royals, they will probably wait and see how the team reacts to the loss of Alex Gordon for an extended time. He probably won’t be back until early September, and the KC Royals need to find a way to maintain their lead in the AL Central.

It isn’t an ideal situation, but things could be worse. Let’s hope the Royals can avoid anymore serious injuries in the second half of the season, and their starting pitching can get healthy and be more productive the rest of the way.

Next: Royals All-Time Leaders in Home Runs

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