Royals’ Mike Moustakas takes a day off to rest sore knee

Battling a sore right knee, third baseman Mike Moustakas received a day off Thursday as the Royals concluded a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

The discomfort surfaced on Wednesday night in Moustakas’ final at-bat, Royals manager Ned Yost. Moustakas felt a pop in his knee and moved gingerly as he returned to the dugout after flying out to center field.

“He’s got a tendon in his leg that just kind of rolled over and popped,” Yost said. “There’s no structural damage, no inflammation, no fluid. He just got a little sore.”

It’s possible that Moustakas could spend a day or two at designated hitter as the Royals open a series at Cleveland on Friday night. Yost said they would evaluate his knee again after the day off.

“It’s not anything that we’re concerned about a bit,” Yost said.

Moustakas previously battled knee issues after being drilled in the hip by Detroit reliever Bruce Rondon on July 26 at Comerica Park. The incident resulted in a deep bruise on Moustakas’ leg that drained fluid into his knee over the course of the next two to three weeks.

“We’re just going to give him a day off,” Yost said. “And (we) might DH him a day or two depending on how he feels tomorrow in Cleveland.”

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Royals’ Mike Moustakas takes a day off to rest sore knee."