Christian Colon, nursing a fractured finger, hopes to rejoin Royals before September ends

Christian Colon popped a protective brace off his fractured right middle finger. A swollen digit emerged into plain sight, a product of a hard-hit ground ball that injured him Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers and placed his availability for the rest of this season in jeopardy.

The Royals plan to re-evaluate Colon in a week. In his absence, the team will utilize Jayson Nix and Johnny Giavotella as their primary backup infielders. Manager Ned Yost spoke of Colon as a still-active player.

“If I’ve got a bunt situation, he can bunt,” Yost said. “We can still use him.”

But the club may be cautious about that. For one, sending him up solely to drop a bunt, when the other club knows a bunt is coming, seems like a less than optimal usage of an at-bat.

If the Royals choose to place Colon on the 15-day disabled list, they could find an exemption through his roster spot as a way to add a player like outfielder Carlos Peguero to the playoff roster. Peguero is not initially eligible, but he can take the roster spot of an injured player. The team is applying the same thought process with Brandon Finnegan, who could take the roster spot of Luke Hochevar, who is on the 60-day disabled list.

Colon stayed in the game after the second-inning grounder connected with his finger. The impact caused him to feel unable to get a grip on the baseball. He committed a throwing error on the play. He was able to lay down a bunt in the bottom of the inning. Then the numbness faded and the pain set in.

“It (stinks),” Colon said. “But at the same time, I’m still positive about it. We’ve got the guys. We’ve got the depth. We’re playing good right now.”

Zimmer heads to Omaha

Top pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer joined Class AAA Omaha to work as a reliever during the Pacific Coast League playoffs. The Storm Chasers were the only Royals affiliate to reach the postseason, so Zimmer jumped from Class A Idaho Falls so he could continue to pitch. He will play on the club’s Advanced Instructional League team later this month.

Zimmer, the No. 5 pick in the 2012 draft, missed the first four months of the season with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle in his back. Zimmer completed 4 2/3 innings in six appearances for Idaho Falls. He struck out five, walked four, gave up five hits and allowed one earned run.

This story was originally published September 3, 2014 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Christian Colon, nursing a fractured finger, hopes to rejoin Royals before September ends."