The Kansas City Royals were hit by a number of injuries on Saturday.
Royals relief pitcher Hunter Harvey was placed on the 15-day injured list after experiencing tightness in his mid-back. Harvey felt unwell during his normal training a few days ago and the Royals decided to make a change to the squad.
KC recalled right-handed reliever Carlos Hernandez from Triple-A Omaha. He entered the bullpen on Saturday when the Royals face the St. Louis Cardinals at Kauffman Stadium.
“It’s something he’s been dealing with for four or five days now,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Harvey. “We kept hoping that it would resolve itself, but it just hasn’t happened. So we need a full bullpen to be able to tackle them.”
Harvey has a 6.35 ERA in six games with the Royals. The club acquired him in a midseason trade from the Washington Nationals in exchange for prospect Cayden Wallace and a 2024 Competitive Balance Round A draft choice.
Since his arrival, Harvey has struggled with similar back issues. He experienced minor discomfort after sliding off the mound against the Chicago Cubs on July 28. Harvey left the game early but was able to recover.
Quatraro denied any suspicion that the injuries were related.
“No, it’s totally different,” Quatraro said. “You know, it resolved itself and he was back in as a pitcher. He pitched the two games in Detroit. This just happened to him here on one of the first two days after he came back, you know, just in the outfield and not as a pitcher in a game.”
The Royals are already without teammate John Schreiber, who is also on the 15-day injured list.
Schreiber is battling a patellar tendon injury in his right knee. He pitched in one bullpen session on Thursday and had another scheduled for Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Royals also changed their starting lineup on Saturday. Royals second baseman Michael Massey was originally supposed to start as first baseman against the Cardinals.
Massey, however, was pulled hours before the first pitch. He is battling a lower back strain that flared up overnight.
“He just came in (Saturday) and just didn’t feel good,” Quatraro said of Massey. “It wasn’t anything that was going to completely debilitate him. We just know we have to deal with it. It’s a day-by-day thing. Yesterday he left feeling good when he came in and today he didn’t feel so good. He’s getting a lot of treatment and we’ll see how quickly we can get the problem resolved.”
The Royals moved infielder Maikel Garcia to second base. Additionally, third baseman Paul DeJong was added to the lineup.
Garcia is scheduled to bat first against Cardinals right-handed pitcher Andre Pallante, with DeJong batting fifth in the order.
Massey was on the injured list twice. He missed Opening Day because of back problems and suffered a strained lower back ligament weeks later.
The Royals used Massey as a designated hitter to get him acclimated to his normal workload before the All-Star break, but Massey was able to play several games in that key position after his return.
The club will remain cautious while Massey keeps an eye on his availability and discomfort level in the home stretch.
“It’s just a question of how it feels for him,” Quatraro said of Massey’s back problem. “It could clear up in the next 10 minutes. With him, it’s just a matter of luck. We just don’t know.”
