Royals Suddenly Lose Star Infielder to Shocking Injury for Rest of 2024 Season
By Joe Summers
The Royals suddenly received devastating injury news on Friday, as star 1B Vinnie Pasquantino will miss 6-8 weeks with a broken right thumb suffered during Thursday night's 6-3 loss to the Houston Astros.
In a best-case scenario, he'll return in the middle of the playoffs. Worst-case? He's done for the year. At the very least, Pasquantino is out for the regular season as Kansas City is set to begin its most important month of baseball in nearly a decade.
After only playing in 62 games in 2023 after a shoulder injury, the 26-year-old slugger became one of the American League's most productive sluggers, yet now won't be part of the team's immediate plans.
Royals News: 1B Vinnie Pasquantino Out 6-8 Weeks With Broken Thumb
Vinnie Pasquantino has a broken right thumb and a six to eight week return timeline, #Royals announce.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) August 30, 2024
His season will end with a .262 batting average and .760 OPS. Pasquantino has 19 home runs and a team-high 97 RBI (4th in MLB) with 30 doubles and 40 walks.
Entering Friday's games, the Royals sit 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central yet are 5.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for the final AL Wild Card spot. Barring a collapse, this team is still in an excellent position to make the playoffs.
However, with three more games against the Astros before a pair of divisional series with the Guardians and Minnesota Twins, Pasquantino's absence is significant. He has seven home runs and 25 RBI in August. The Royals don't have an immediate answer to replace him, so this scrappy lineup needs someone to step up in a major way.
Kansas City can withstand this news, though losing such a valuable bat in the middle of the lineup is always a negative. Here's hoping Pasquantino can return in the playoffs but either way, the Royals are a much worse baseball team than they were 24 hours ago.
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