Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for June 22, 2021

How many games will we see Adalberto Mondesi play this year?

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Jun 22, 2021, 8:00am EDT

Royals Rumblings - News for June 22, 2021

Dayton Moore updates Anne Rogers on the latest injury to Adalberto Mondesi.

“He’s just devastated,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore told reporters at an event Monday morning. “We just feel so bad for him. We’re obviously a much different team when he’s on the field.”

Sam Mellinger opines on the enigmatic potential of Mondesi.

Theories have abounded: Perhaps he needs to know the difference between an injury and something to play through, or he needs more regular maintenance work, or he’ll figure it out once he hits arbitration. Maybe he needs to better pick his spots to go all-out.

Maybe switching positions would help, and the club has had informal discussions about this, but is that really a solution? Playing centerfield might be even harder on his body, and any other position significantly lowers his value.

These are all theories, and athletes change so rapidly. But the Royals need to know with as much certainty as possible whether this is a problem with his preparation, his ability to play through pain, a body that is simply not built for the brutality of a 162-game season, or the worst luck in professional sports.

Craig Brown is mystified by Mondesi’s injuries.

I’ve been doing some pondering and wonder if these injuries don’t further frustrate because we can’t actually see them when they happen. The spring training oblique? Nobody knew until he told the training staff. The hamstring last month? Looked like a normal play that didn’t raise any alarms at that moment. And now feeling “something in his side?” Like, when the hell did that happen?

Layout for a fly ball, land awkwardly on your shoulder and need surgery? Everyone can see that. They understand. Injuries are part of the game. But these latest maladies? That’s a little more difficult to explain.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown considers when Bobby Witt, Jr. might get a promotion.

That’s 15 extra base hits in 80 plate appearances. He’s crushing the ball. Given the issues with Adalberto Mondesi staying healthy, it’s fair to wonder how much longer we’re going to have to wait to see Witt. If the latest Mondesi issue requires an IL stint, I don’t think Witt will be the guy to come up, but I think he’s a lot closer to being the guy today than he was even three weeks ago the last time Mondesi was pulled from a game early. And if a need arises three weeks from now, I think the odds get even better. In the interim, I can’t imagine it’ll be long before Witt finds his way to Omaha, probably along with his teammate, Nick Pratto.

Minor league pitcher Angel Zerpa is promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Salvador Perez still has a huge lead at catcher in voting for the All-Star Game.

Royals vice president of communications and broadcasting Mike Swanson receives accolades upon announcing his retirement.

Former Royals infielder Ben Zobrist claims in a lawsuit his wife cheated on him with their pastor.

Frank White announces he will run for re-election for Jackson County Executive.

Umpires began checking pitchers for foreign substances on Monday.

Cubs infielder Javier Baez is benched after a bone-headed baserunning gaffe.

Despite a deadened baseball, there are still a lot of home runs.

Padres pitcher Joey Lucchesi has a UCL tear.

The White Sox are discussing a trade for Diamondbacks infielder Eduardo Escobar.

Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. won’t participate in the Home Run Derby.

A look at the first career MLB hit for several top prospects, including Andrew Benintendi.