Return of Royals outfielder Jorge Soler ‘doesn’t look good’ after rehab setback

The long wait for Jorge Soler’s return to the Royals lineup just grew a little longer.

Soler, who has been out since the middle of June because of a fractured toe, had a setback during his rehab assignment with Class AAA Omaha last week and will be shut down for the foreseeable future.

Soler did not re-fracture the bone in his left foot, but he was diagnosed with a bone bruise in the same area. The injury could potentially end his season, Royals manager Ned Yost acknowledged Sunday.

“We got four weeks left,” Yost said. “Probably doesn’t look very good.”

Soler was in the Royals’ clubhouse Sunday. He played two games with Omaha on back-to-back days last week, collecting two hits in eight at-bats and striking out in the other six.

Before the setback, the Royals had expressed a desire to offer Soler major-league at-bats to help him gather his timing at the plate before heading into the offseason. The club has not yet determined his winter program.

If the latest injury is indeed season-ending, it cuts short a year in which Soler was showing progress at the plate. After his first season in Kansas City was defined by his struggles, Soler was batting .265 with nine home runs and 18 doubles over the first two-plus months of the season. He was slugging .466.

Acquired in a trade for Wade Davis prior to last season, Soler is under contract with the Royals through 2020.

This story was originally published September 2, 2018 at 3:19 PM.