Herrera arm injury not serious, could return Sunday

Royals manager Ned Yost didn’t wait for the question. He knew Kelvin Herrera’s health was the primary topic entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Angels.

The news was good.

“Really, really good,” Yost said.

An MRI revealed no serious damage to Herrera’s forearm, just a slight flexor strain.

“No damage, not much fluid. Very, very little fluid, which is great news,” Yost said.

Herrera won’t play Friday. The Royals will re-evaluate him Sunday, and Yost said he hopes Herrera and his power arm are available for Game 3 Sunday at Kauffman Stadium.

Herrera threw a scare into the Royals on Thursday when he entered the game in his usual slot, the seventh inning.

The game stood at 2-2. The Royals had gotten six solid innings from starter Jason Vargas. Solo home runs by Chris Iannetta and David Freese were the only hits Vargas had surrendered. It was time for Yost to turn things over to his stellar bullpen. When it gets to the seventh, that’s Herrera territory.

But after walking Freese on five pitches, Herrera was finished. He left the game, and six more Royals relievers brought home a 3-2 victory in 11 innings.

Herrera said after the game that he didn’t believe the injury was serious, and the MRI proved him right.

If a player is placed on the disabled list, another can be activated and the injured player would have to sit out through the American League Championship Series.

That doesn’t seem to be the case with Herrera. Yost said he plans on keeping the rest of his bullpen on schedule. Wade Davis is set for the eighth, Greg Holland the ninth. If the Royals need relief help in the seventh, Yost said he’ll mix and match. On Thursday, he did that in the ninth inning.

With the game tied, he used lefty Tim Collins, who struck out Josh Hamilton for the second out. Right-hander Jason Frasor got Iannetta to line out for the third out.

“We’ll just see where we’re at,” Yost said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Herrera arm injury not serious, could return Sunday."