Vinnie Pasquantino Injury: Royals’ Slugger Out for Season After Unusual Incident
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals will be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season due to a broken thumb suffered during a strange play in Thursday’s game, which also resulted in an injury to star reliever Lucas Erceg.
The Royals announced on Friday morning that the 26-year-old Pasquantino is anticipated to be out for six to eight weeks due to a broken right thumb. The team mentioned additional tests would be conducted the same day via their social media channels.
In the eighth inning of a match that ended in a 6-3 defeat to the Houston Astros, Erceg got hurt when he attempted to catch a sharply hit grounder from Yainer Diaz with just his bare hand. During this play, Pasquantino was also involved, as he tried to field the throw, which caused him to collide with Diaz in the runner’s lane.
Both players were pulled from the game promptly following the incident.
Pasquantino, drafted by Kansas City in 2019’s 11th round, has played in the majors for parts of the last two seasons. This season, he established himself as the Royals’ No. 3 hitter, boasting a batting average of .262 with 19 home runs and 97 RBIs. Throughout his career, he has a batting average of .267, with 38 homers and 149 RBIs.