Steve Drumwright

The return of Maikel Garcia to the Kansas City Royals lasted just three games plus one at-bat. The third baseman was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday by the Royals due to a strained left hamstring. Right-handed reliever Carlos Duran was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, while taking their spots on the 26-man roster are outfielder Matthew Lugo and right-handed reliever Jose Cuas, who were called up from Omaha. Garcia was injured during the first inning Thursday after taking a big turn around third base following a misplay on a grounder to short. Nic Loftin took over at third base as Garcia exited the game. Garcia had just returned to the Royals' lineup Monday following a muscle strain in his left hand from the last week in June. Garcia is slashing .269/.324/.385 in 73 games, hitting three homers and driving in 32. The 25-year-old Lugo will be making his Royals debut. He has only appeared in the majors for 31 games last season with the Los Angeles Angels, posting a .232/.243/.464 with four homers and nine RBIs. The Royals claimed Lugo off waivers from the Angels on June 2. Between the Angels and Royals in the minors this season, he has a .265/.350/.473 slash line with 14 homers and 65 RBIs, along with 14 steals, in 100 games. Cuas has a 1.64 ERA in 10 games and 11 innings, with four walks and 13 strikeouts. Duran has appeared in two games with the Royals this year, allowing two runs in 1⅓ innings. View full rumor

The struggles of Lucas Erceg have resulted in a demotion. The right-handed reliever was optioned to Triple-A Omaha as right-hander Carlos Duran was called up from Omaha. The Royals are hoping Erceg can figure some things out in a less-pressurized environment. In Monday's 9-5 loss to the A's, Erceg gave up a run on a hit and two walks without getting an out in the ninth inning. That leaves him with a 5.57 FIP (6.23 ERA) in 43⅓ innings over 47 appearances with a 13.9% walk rate and 14.9% strikeout rate. Those are not only below last year's marks of 7.2% and 19.3%, but off his career rates of 10.3% and 22.8%. Erceg, formerly the Royals' closer, has 12 saves in 18 chances this season. Duran will be making his season debut for the Royals after having his MLB debut with the A's last year with one-third of an inning, allowing three runs on one hit and three walks. He signed in the offseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was added to the 40-man roster in early July before being acquired by the Royals in the Kris Bubic trade at the deadline. In 40 games at Triple-A between the Dodgers and Royals, he has a 3.15 ERA with a 13.9% walk rate and 30.8% strikeout rate. View full rumor

The unfortunate 2026 of Vinnie Pasquantino has another chapter. The Kansas City Royals placed the slugging first baseman on the 10-day injured list with soreness in his right wrist and called up outfielder John Rave from Triple-A Omaha. Pasquantino had been back off the IL for about three weeks following a fractured right hamate bone, the same hand now experiencing soreness. Pasquantino left Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins with the injury, which bothers him when he swings. By that tone, this would seem to be a fairly minimal stay on the IL. The left-handed hitter is slashing just .232/.318/.345 with his power production down notably. He has just six homers and 33 RBIs in 79 games after having 32 homers and 113 RBIs in 160 games last year. Rave is up for the second time this season, having gone 4-for-18 with a homer among four extra-base hits and one RBI. View full rumor

July is starting with a handful of moves involving the pitching staff. Right-handed reliever Connor Seabold was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained right lat and right-handed reliever Eric Cerantola was optioned to Triple-A Omaha. Coming up from Omaha to replace them are right-handers Jose Cuas and Randy Dobnak. Cuas had to be added to the 40-man roster, so left-handed starter Kris Bubic was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Seabold pitched just two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's 10-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Seabold, with his third MLB team this season, has appeared in five games for the Royals, giving up six runs (five earned) over seven innings with four walks and five strikeouts. Cerantola followed Seabold in Tuesday's game by going 1⅓ innings and walking six. He has allowed six runs in 5⅓ innings for a 10.13 ERA. The 32-year-old Cuas, who made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Royals, is back in the majors for the first time since 2024, when he appeared in 13 games for the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays. He has a 3.31 ERA in 29 games over 32⅔ innings with 19 walks and 33 strikeouts. Dobnak started the season at Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, then exercised a June 15 upward mobility clause that landed him with the Royals in a cash trade. He was added to the 40-man roster upon being acquired and made two starts at Omaha, allowing six runs in 10⅔ innings with one walk and 10 strikeouts for a 5.06 ERA. Dobnak appeared in one MLB game with the Minnesota Twins in 2025. View full rumor

Kansas City Royals right-handed starter Stephen Kolek, who was already on the paternity list as he was expecting the birth of his first child, was moved to the family medical emergency leave list Tuesday. No further details on Kolek's personal situation were made available. He was also placed on the family medical emergency leave list June 4 and returned June 9. Kolek went on the paternity list Friday, which allows three days of leave from the team. View full rumor

It might have been in the Kansas City Royals' plan anyway, but a disastrous outing Friday earned Mitch Spence a trip back to the minors. The Royals on Saturday optioned Spence back to Triple-A Omaha and called up right-hander Eric Cerantola from Triple-A. Spence had been called up Friday to take the spot of right-handed starter Stephen Kolek, who went on paternity leave. With the Royals filling Kolek's scheduled start with a bullpen game, Spence came on in the second inning and got the final two outs of that inning, then proceeded to allow 10 runs in the third in what would become a 22-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Spence finished by allowing eight hits and three walks, giving up a pair of homers in 1⅓. Cerantola is with the Royals for a third time this season. In his previous two, he pitched a total of four innings over three games, allowing four runs on three hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. View full rumor

The Kansas City Royals will be without right-handed starter Stephen Kolek this weekend, but it is for a good reason. Kolek was placed on the paternity list Friday, with right-hander Mitch Spence called up from Triple-A Omaha. The paternity list allows a player to be away from the team for up to three days. Kolek, whose last start was Sunday, would have been due to start Friday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox. He still could return this weekend, but otherwise will be back when the Royals return home to start a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Spence is up for the third time this season. He made one start and one relief appearance in his previous call-ups, allowing 12 runs in eight innings on 11 hits and six walks. View full rumor