Royals manager Matt Quatraro provided some updates today about players on the roster, with Anne Rogers of MLB.com relaying them on X. Outfielder Dairon Blanco, who departed Saturday’s game with some cramping, will get an MRI on his calf today. Quatraro framed it as precautionary, saying the MRI was “just in case.” Meanwhile, right-hander Carlos Hernández is playing catch as he ramps up after being shut down with shoulder soreness a couple of weeks ago.
Though Quatraro downplayed the issue with Blanco, an MRI always implies some level of concern. If healthy, Blanco would likely be in line for a part-time bench role for the club, similar to the job he had last year. He got into 69 games in 2023 but only garnered 138 plate appearances, often entering games as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He hit a solid .258/.324/.452 in that time for a wRC+ of 108 while also stealing 24 bases in 29 tries.
He was even more impressive at Triple-A, as he stole 47 bases in just 49 games at that level. His huge .347/.444/.451 slash line translated to a wRC+ of 136. He played all three outfield spots, both at Triple-A and in the majors, with his big league glovework getting positive reviews from advanced defensive metrics.
The Royals are likely to give regular playing time to Hunter Renfroe, MJ Melendez, Nelson Velázquez and Kyle Isbel between their three outfield positions and the designated hitter slot. Blanco will be backing up that group and coming off the bench as long as he doesn’t require a trip to the injured list. If he does need to miss some time, it could perhaps open a roster spot for Nick Pratto, Drew Waters or Tyler Gentry.
As for Hernández, as mentioned, he was shut down with shoulder soreness a couple of weeks ago. He played catch over the weekend and will do so again today as he starts to ramp back up. Whether he can be an option for the club early in the season will depend on how he progresses in the next little bit, with Opening Day now just over two weeks away.
Last year, he looked to be breaking out as a key reliever for the Royals. After an outing on August 4, he was sitting on an earned run average of 3.60 through 55 innings on the year. He had a 29.7% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and had earned 11 holds and a save. But he stumbled down the stretch, allowing 19 earned run in his final 15 innings and boosting his season ERA to 5.27.
Hernández will be looking to get back to that excellent form in 2024, though obviously with a strong finish. The year is off to a bit of a shaky start with the shoulder issue but it’s an encouraging sign that he has resumed throwing.
Classy comment.
When I was younger, I used to be able to tell you practically every player on every team in the league. As I have gotten older, I find that I still know all my Rockies and most of the other NL West teams, but other teams I would be lucky to name 5 guys. When I see a name like Dairon Blanco, I find that I need to read the story just to see who the hell he is.
Is that the Guerrero Jr. with a .979 OPS?
Muted.
Not a good sign if you have to quote a Spring Training OPS to defend a player. He had a .788 OPS last season, and his collective career OPS registers just under .800 in four of his five seasons, which is not great for a supposed slugging 1B’man. 2021 is the outlier season in his career.
Not to mention (which means I will), his “home” OPS in 2021 was more than 250 points higher than his road OPS, but that was the year when the Jays played many of their home games in two minor league parks.
Pratto and Melendez will have breakout years at the plate. If Pratto gets a full opportunity.
How do I know this? I don’t. It just just feels like it going to happen.
Isbell or Waters have to play center. Melendez will be in left or DH. Renfro is going to play right or dh. Where will Pratto play full time? He’ll have to play well from the get go to earn time.
Yeah, that’s where I’m not sure when it comes to Pratto so I said “if”. He’s a lefty like pasquantino. Plus you have Perez needing DH abs and getting some starts at 1b.
There’s a quite a few players in the DH rotation. If he somehow gets a shot a full time, he will breakout.
Velazquez has looked bad in Spring Training and RosterResource has him not making the team fwiw.
go back to VOICE_OF_REASON