Royals’ Dozier making progress towards return but remains out of lineup in Cleveland
Hunter Dozier simply hasn’t been more persuasive in pleading his case to get back on the field than the Kansas City Royals’ training and medical staff have been about erring on the side of caution.
Dozier has certainly tried, though.
The club’s starting third baseman, who signed a four-year contract extension during spring training, was set to watch from the dugout as the Royals began their first road trip of the season Monday afternoon.
The Royals (2-1) were to begin a two-game set against the AL Central Division rival Indians (1-2) at 3:10 p.m. CT at Progressive Field. The game was scheduled to be televised locally on Bally Sports Kansas City, as well as nationally via ESPN.
Dozier remains out of the lineup for a third consecutive game with a swollen right thumb. Monday’s game marks the Indians’ home opener.
“He’s already starting to fight a little bit, but he hasn’t hit yet,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He still needs to hit, and we’ve got to make sure. It’s one of those things that you know you’ll go backwards if you don’t take the amount of time that you need.”
Dozier took part in early fielding drills at Kauffman Stadium before Sunday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers. He was expected to take batting practice prior to Monday’s game.
Dozier came out of Thursday’s season opener with the thumb injury, and Hanser Alberto replaced him. Alberto has started in his place each game since.
Wary of making the ailment worse or turning it into a prolonged issue, Matheny was not willing to insert Dozier back into the lineup until he the training staff has gauged how Dozier’s hand responds to taking swings, either in the batting cage or on the field.
“I was in there talking to him a few minutes ago, and he’s already pushing pretty hard, which is a good sign that it’s getting to that point,” Matheny said Monday morning. “But we have to see how it reacts after he swings.”
The Royals did not place Dozier on the injured list, so he’s eligible to play at any point the training staff deems him ready.
The Royals have a scheduled day off Tuesday before wrapping up their two-game set in Cleveland on Wednesday.
Matheny did not rule out the possibility of Dozier returning to the lineup Wednesday.
Keller gets an extra day
Royals right-hander Brad Keller, who started on opening day in Kansas City, will not start Wednesday in Cleveland despite the club going with four starters for the opening weeks of the season.
Keller pitched just 1 1/3 innings in his first start, throwing 51 pitches.
With days off built into the schedule early in the regular season, the Royals won’t play on five consecutive days until April 10-14. They’ve moved right-hander Jakob Junis to the bullpen, and they sent left-hander Kris Bubic down to the minors before spring training concluded.
Matheny said Keller will start on Thursday in Chicago, and Wednesday’s starter is yet to be determined.
Right-handed veteran Ervin Santana, who has spent almost his entire career as a starter, pitched out of the bullpen during spring training. Matheny described him, Junis and Carlos Hernandez as having been put in a “hybrid” role that might include starting and/or relieving.
Santana is with the team in Cleveland as part of the Royals’ five-player taxi squad. Tuesday’s off-day will likely give the Royals a variety of options for players they could add to the active roster and bring into town before Wednesday’s game.
