Royals put Alex Gordon on disabled list, call up Abraham Almonte

The Royals on Tuesday placed outfielder Alex Gordon on the 10-day disabled list because of a labral tear in his left hip and recalled outfielder Abraham Almonte from Class AAA Omaha.

Gordon, who was hitting .174 (4 for 23) with a double through seven games, was held out of the lineup Monday after he woke up with what he described as groin soreness. Since Gordon missed two months of the 2015 season because of a Grade 2-plus strain of his left groin, the Royals chose to be cautious and give him a few days to recover.

He'll need more than that. The Royals training staff determined the labrum in Gordon's left hip had torn just enough for the joint to become inflamed and cause the soreness in his groin. They caught the problem in time to prevent further wearing of the cartilage, which lines and helps to cushion the hip joint. If the tear doesn’t improve with rest, surgery would become an option.

Gordon underwent surgery in 2009 when he experienced similar discomfort in his right hip. Marc Philippon of Vail Valley Surgery Center in Colorado repaired the labral tear by manipulating the cartilage and reattaching it to the hip socket, according to ESPN.

For now, surgery doesn’t seem likely.

The news of the hip injury caught manager Ned Yost by surprise. The first time he said he heard of any discomfort was in Monday's text message, which arrived the morning after a weeklong road trip that saw the Royals play five games in frigid conditions.

But Yost is encouraged by the early prognosis, which does not include a month-long recovery.

“I was thinking a month, six weeks. I was relieved to hear that it could be a lot less than that,” Yost said. “But you never know. It’s like we talked about with Salvy (Perez). Four to six weeks. Well, it’s probably going be closer to the four than the six (for him) — but you couldn’t tell going into it.”

Yost said the injury nagged Gordon for a couple of years. Yet it wasn’t until recently that it bothered Gordon enough to prompt the Royals to temporarily shut him down.

The Royals will re-evaluate Gordon’s status in about a week.

In Gordon’s absence, outfielder Paulo Orlando will slide into an everyday role. He played in five of the Royals’ first eight games, making four starts, and was in Tuesday’s lineup.

He started the season in a 1 for 12 rut, but busted out of it with a pair of hits, including a double, in Monday night's 10-0 win over the Mariners at Kauffman Stadium.

This isn't the first time the Royals have turned to Orlando in the wake of an injury.

Already a reserve outfielder in 2016, Orlando saw his playing time increase further when Lorenzo Cain strained his hamstring. He ended the season with a .302 batting average over 457 at-bats.

But he didn’t get the time to continue building on his breakout season last year. Despite winning a starting job in the outfield out of spring training, he was demoted to Class AAA Omaha within a few weeks. Then he was sidelined for more than two months as he recovered from a fractured shin, an injury he suffered in May.

Outside of missing about a week of spring training last month because of a Grade 1 hamstring strain, Orlando has been healthy.

“I feel good with Paulo,” Yost said. “Being that guy that is that fourth guy, you try to give him as much playing time as you can. It’s hard to get consistent. But that’s the goal, trying to keep it consistent for him so that he can get consistent and stay swinging the bat well.”

Almonte, meanwhile, will feature most often in a relief role.

Almonte, 28, was claimed off waivers from Cleveland on April 2 and took the roster spot of pitching prospect Miguel Almonte, who was designated for assignment and traded to the Angels last week.

In parts of three seasons with the Indians, Abraham Almonte hit .254 with 37 doubles, nine triples, nine home runs and 56 RBIs. He was suspended 80 games for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Boldenone in 2016, when he hit .264 with 22 RBIs in 67 games. Almonte hit .233 with 14 RBIs in 69 games last season.

Almonte has played 122 of his 302 major-league games in center field.

“He gives us depth,” Yost said. “Can roam the outfield pretty good.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Royals put Alex Gordon on disabled list, call up Abraham Almonte."