Kansas City Royals: Alex Gordon Out Three to Four Weeks
By Charles Lam
The Kansas City Royals’ worst fear came to life on Sunday, as Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas collided in foul territory. Gordon fractured his wrist on the play and will be out of three to four weeks.
Before the injury, Alex Gordon had been struggling at the plate slashing .211/.319/.331 this season. Gordon didn’t look right. In fact, he had 50 strikeouts in just 42 games. He drove in 10 runs and had four home runs.
His defensive numbers were good at .987 fielding percentage with two assists and one error but not great. He made some great plays but something looked off.
Unfortunately, Gordon got hurt and can’t work the kinks out of his game just yet. Someone else must step up for the Royals to stay in contention for the American League Central title.
Alex Gordon has fracture of scaphoid bone in wrist area. Out 3-4 weeks #Royals
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) May 23, 2016
The Royals called up Cheslor Cuthbert to take Gordon’s place on the 25-man roster. Cuthbert will get a few starts at third base while Mike Moustakas recovers from a contusion on his knee. Moustakas is listed as day-to-day.
Moustakas has contusion on knee. Day to day #Royals
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) May 23, 2016
Before being sent down to Omaha to work on his second base skills, Cuthbert was hitting the ball well in the major leagues slashing .255/.269/.373 in 13 games. Those aren’t stunning numbers but numbers that will get the job done while Moustakas is rehabbing another injury.
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Jarrod Dyson will replace Gordon in left field for now. In the last seven games, Dyson has played well. He has seven hits during that span and three hits during the Saturday’s game in Chicago.
Unfortunately, six of the seven hits are singles the other being a double. Dyson is slash line this season is .250/.296/.329.
The good news is Dyson is fast. If he gets on base, he can then steal a base, essentially turning a single into a double. His speed also distracts the pitchers and gives the Royals batters more fastballs during the at bat which might lead to more runs being scored. Dyson has seven stolen bases this season.
The Royals’ lineup will look different starting against the Minnesota Twins.
New lineup pic.twitter.com/xEUbQx50sd
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) May 23, 2016
Whit Merrifield is in the two hole. I don’t see a huge problem with this. I like Whit’s speed and willingness to swing at close pitches with two strikes. In three games played in the MLB, Merrifield has a triple slash line of .250/.250/.250.
Merrifield gets the start at third base while Cuthbert travels to Minnesota. During his time in Omaha, Merrifield had 16 stolen bases, five home runs and 17 runs batted in. The best thing about Merrifield is his versatility. He can play all outfield and infield positions.
Kansas City will need him and more players to step up while Gordon is gone and Moustakas recovers. Currently, the boys in blue are third in the American League central, 3.5 games back of the White Sox and one game back of the Indians.
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This week is critical. Taking on the Twins for three games on the road and the White Sox for a four game series at home.
Will the Royals survive the barrage of injuries? Will the other players step enough to keep this series win streak going? Let me know what you think in the comments’ section below.