Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi will undergo surgery next week to repair a tear near the joint of his left shoulder, the team announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). Mondesi will recover five to six months to recover from the operation, per team trainer Nick Kenney, which could obviously impact his ability for the start of the 2020 season.
It’s a discouraging development for the ultra-talented Mondesi, who has displayed a tantalizing combination of extra-base pop, blistering speed and strong defensive ratings at shortstop over the past two seasons. Mondesi only just turned 24 but has already amassed 26 home runs and 89 stolen bases in just 943 plate appearances at the MLB level. His questionable plate discipline and penchant for punching out will likely lead to persistent on-base issues, but the blend of speed, power and glovework makes him a clear foundational piece for the rebuilding Royals.
The tear and subsequent shoulder surgery may call into question the Royals’ decision to bring Mondesi back into the fold at all. Mondesi missed two months with a subluxation of his left shoulder this summer but returned to the lineup on Sept. 1. At the time of his activation, manager Ned Yost suggested that Mondesi had been instructed not to dive for balls in the field or dive headfirst into bases for the remainder of the season (Twitter link via Flanagan). Mondesi, however, reinjured his shoulder doing precisely that: diving to his right for a hard grounder off the bat of Twins slugger Nelson Cruz (video link).
Dating back to Opening Day 2018, Mondesi has hit at a .268/.297/.454 clip while generating 5.6 rWAR and 5.2 fWAR in a total of 177 games. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until next winter and is under club control through the 2023 season.
Get fixed and get back. Good player.
“At the time of his activation, manager Ned Yost suggested that Mondesi had been instructed not to dive for balls in the field or dive headfirst into bases for the remainder of the season.”
I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this one. A young, talented player comes back from a shoulder injury in September, that his team knows about, and is re-injured. Because his team is in the hunt for a playoff spot and they need him…..
What was KC management thinking?
(insert Pikachu face here)
Exactly. If that’s a conversation you need to have with a talent that the organization plans to build around, then clearly he shouldn’t be playing with a week left to go in a season with nothing to play for.
They should’ve just shut him down for the rest of the season. And I’m sure you’re being sarcastic about the playoff hunt.
Sarcasm alert!
(in previous post).
I wondered the same, but it’s not true that there’s nothing to play for. Obviously we’re not fighting for a playoff spot but Mondesi is still developing as a player and game experience is the best way to do that. Obviously that needs to be balanced with injury risks and the Royals are usually pretty good about protecting their players, so I’m giving management the benefit of the doubt.
They should never dive head first into bases…..