Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right ACL tear, the team announced Thursday.
The team recalled Brett Eibner from Triple-A Omaha.
MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan added that Moustakas is expected to miss the rest of the season:
The injury occurred on May 22 after Moustakas collided with left fielder Alex Gordon, who also broke his wrist on the play, per Flanagan. Here is a look at the crash, via MLB.com:
According to Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, Royals manager Ned Yost called the injury a “contusion” earlier this week, but Moustakas was still available to pinch hit Wednesday.
However, the swelling continued to worsen, and Moustakas’ ability to move was not great.
“He felt OK,” Yost said Wednesday, per Dodd. “It still bothers him to run laterally a little bit.”
Moustakas is hitting .240 this season with seven home runs and 13 RBI. His seven jacks put him in a tie with Salvador Perez for second on the team behind Eric Hosmer’s eight.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, Eibner is killing the ball with a .309 average, 10 home runs and 28 RBI at Omaha, so he may help alleviate the loss of Moustakas in the Kansas City lineup. However, Eibner is an outfielder who will not replace him at third base.
Look for the Royals to potentially call shortstop Christian Colon back up to the big club. The team demoted Colon on May 18, but it could use some additional depth for the infield.
The Royals are already not in a great position, as they sit at 24-22 and third in the American League Central. With Gordon out for the next month, per Flanagan, and Moustakas likely done for the year, the team will be without two key cogs for an extended period of time.
If Kansas City wants to return to the playoffs to defend its World Series title, it may need to make some moves to bring in offensive reinforcements.
Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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