Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy’s stay on disabled list may extend past 10 days

Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy appears to be in line to return to the mound this coming Saturday.

Kennedy, who is on the 10-day disabled list because of a Grade-1 hamstring strain, threw a bullpen session Friday.

“He still felt a little tugging, no pain, which Nick (Kenney, the Royals’ trainer) said would be normal, so he’s making progress,” manager Ned Yost said before Saturday’s game.

Kennedy is expected to throw another bullpen session, possibly as early as Sunday. While Kennedy is eligible to return from the disabled list Tuesday, the Royals are in no rush to activate him.

Chris Young will make a second straight start in Kennedy’s place on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles at Kauffman Stadium. Yost said the Royals likely will wait until Kennedy’s spot in the rotation would come up a third time before deciding to activate him.

That would be next Saturday, when the Royals play at Minnesota.

“We were going to stay in rotation to give him the extra days,” Yost said, “and we’ll see where he’s at at the end of that.”

Kennedy is 0-3 this season with a 3.03 ERA in six starts.

This story was originally published May 13, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy’s stay on disabled list may extend past 10 days."