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Bad news for people who like good baseball players to not be hurt: Jorge Soler exited Friday evening’s game with a broken left big toe. Or, if you are the Kansas City Royals and medical terms are your thing, he broke his ‘left first metatarsal.’
Jorge Soler left tonight's game with a fracture of his left first metatarsal.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 16, 2018
Soler had been in the midst of his career best season, despite slowing down significantly after a hot start. While the severity of the injury or the timetable is unknown, Rustin Dodd over at The Athletic pointed out that Jason Werth broke the same phalange last June and missed most of July and August.
This makes the Royals outfield particularly thin, especially after Kansas City traded Jon Jay. Jorge Bonifacio will likely slot into Soler’s role when he returns from Triple-A Omaha later this month.
Update: Soler is going to miss a month, probably more.
Soler will be out at least six weeks. Royals will re-evaluate in a week to see if the fracture has separated any farther. If it hasn’t, Soler will be left to heal on his own. Otherwise, surgery would be needed.
— Maria Torres (@maria_torres3) June 16, 2018
Jorge Soler had a CT scan on his fractured foot and he won’t need surgery. The club will re-evaluate in a week, but will likely be month(s) and not weeks. “I’ve never seen him that upset,” Ned Yost said.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) June 16, 2018