Adalberto Mondesi rejoining the Royals; KC makes other roster moves, too
As the Royals return to Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday for the final time before the All-Star break, their lineup is finally complete.
Kansas City activated shortstop Adalberto Mondesi from the 10-day injury list Tuesday, optioning Humberto Arteaga to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.
The Royals also recalled right-handed pitcher Jake Newberry and sent Scott Barlow to Omaha.
They placed Mondesi on the injured list last month with a groin strain. He initially tried to play through the ailment.
During a two-game rehab stint with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Mondesi was 2 for 9 (.222) with one double and a stolen base. He struck out four times.
“He wasn’t out that long — just wanted to make sure that he was feeling good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Stole a base, hitting the ball hard, did great defensively, no repercussions. He’s ready to go. We’re excited to get him back.”
The Royals navigated the entire month of June without one of its top-four hitters, with third baseman Hunter Dozier sidelined the first three weeks with an oblique strain and his return coinciding with Mondesi’s absence.
Mondesi, who turns 24 later this month, comes back to a .269 batting average with six home runs and 44 RBI. He still leads baseball with 27 stolen bases and eight triples.
When the injury sidelined him, he was perhaps in need of a break anyway. Mondesi batted .203 across 64 at-bats in June, striking out 22 times and walking just once. He did not homer in the month.
In his 11-game stint filling in at shortstop, Arteaga batted .237 with one double.
“I thought Arty did great. He filled in admirably for Mondi,” Yost said. “We didn’t miss a beat defensively. And the thing about Arty is he’s such a great situational-type player, can hit the ball to all fields. He’ll be back.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 2:32 PM.