June 12: Further testing revealed that there is no fracture in Renfroe’s foot, tweets Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star. The issue appears to be a bone bruise. Renfroe will not require surgery.
June 11: The Royals announced they’ve placed Hunter Renfroe on the 10-day injured list. The veteran outfielder fractured his left big toe in last night’s loss to the Yankees. Kansas City also placed Adam Frazier on the bereavement list, recalling Nick Pratto and Drew Waters to take the vacated active roster spots.
Renfroe went for imaging today that’ll determine his recovery timeline, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (X link via Anne Rogers of MLB.com). He’ll at least need a week and a half before he’s ready to return to MLB action. Renfroe had finally begun to find a groove, picking up seven hits (including two doubles and homers apiece) in six games this month. The 32-year-old still has a subpar .200/.273/.365 line over 187 plate appearances thanks to a frigid start to the season.
Despite the mediocre production, Renfroe has started 49 of the team’s 67 games in right field. Waters draws in there tonight against Marcus Stroman. The Royals haven’t gotten much out of any of their outfielders. Kyle Isbel (.219/.263/.338) and MJ Melendez (.162/.225/.341) have produced even less offensively than Renfroe has mustered.
The 25-year-old Waters is up for the first time this season. He has solid numbers for Triple-A Omaha, where he’s hitting .277/.350/.484 with seven homers through 214 plate appearances. That’s with a slightly elevated 26.6% strikeout rate, a problem for Waters throughout his career. The former second-round pick has punched out in nearly a third of his 446 MLB plate appearances. He owns a .231/.306/.402 line at the highest level.
Kansas City is 11 games over .500 and in possession of the American League’s second Wild Card spot despite the outfield. General manager J.J. Picollo acknowledged last week that the team could look outside the organization before the trade deadline. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Taylor Ward, Tommy Pham, Brent Rooker and Jesse Winker are among the likeliest outfielders to move by the end of next month.
If he toes the line, he should be ok.
Call AAA, Hunter is flat, need a tow truck.
Renfroe sounds like something you’d say when your drooling all over yourself
Is jazz that likely to be traded…?
I mean, Marlins already traded Arraez, they’re probably in retool mode, so yes Jazz is a realistic trade candidate in my opinion.
If Jazz doesn’t play hard in Miami, KC will be a death sentence.
He already doesn’t play hard in Miami because he’s jazz and Miami ain’t doing nothing in the postseason
Sometimes I trade jazz for a bossa or a waltz or a funk tune or even a blues. Fills out the set nicely.
Always liked Hunter. Padres aren’t hitting lefties well this year. Bring him back for Tirso Ornelas or something?
Makes sense for San Diego, but as the article points out, Royals have nothing better. Royals are still in the postseason mix just like Padres.
Why did the padres trade him in the first place after his power surge
Preller trades everyone that doesn’t have a l/t contract.
Royals lose their Sgt Hulka!
I still can’t believe that no one but the RS wanted him after TB cut him. He’s generally been a solid 2.0-2.5 WAR type of player.
He’s been hurt so the numbers aren’t there, but he’s generally good for 25 to 30 homeruns and has a decent slash line by the of the season. Very solid hitter.
Glad to read nothing is broke, but a severe bone bruise can linger and cause lots of problems for hitters for weeks, even months. Even after better, the hitter can develop bad habits.
Went from broken to not broken… to ingrown nail?