Dozier returns to the Kansas City Royals’ lineup on Friday night. Staumont to the IL
Hunter Dozier will make his return to the Kansas City Royals’ lineup in Friday night’s series opener on the road against the Minnesota Twins.
Dozier will start in right field and bat eighth on Friday night. Dozier’s reinstatement from the injured list came as part of a bevy of roster moves on Friday afternoon in advance of the game at Target Field.
The Royals (23-25) also placed right-handed relief pitcher Josh Staumont on the injured list with a left knee strain and optioned first baseman Ryan O’Hearn to Triple-A Omaha. The Royals also recalled right-handed pitcher Carlos Hernández from Triple-A.
Dozier has been on the IL since his collision with Chicago White Sox first baseman José Abreu during the first game of a doubleheader in Chicago on May 14. Dozier originally went on the 7-day IL for players with concussion symptoms. He began a minor-league rehab assignment on May 22.
“It’s just an unfortunate play,” Dozier said of the collision. “I hit a pop-up to the catcher (Yasmani) Grandal. Me, I’m not just going to stand there. I’m going to get down to first base, hustle down.
“The only thing I really remember is trying to avoid Grandal, who was trying to make the play. Once I got around him, I had my head down and at the last second I looked up and Abreu just — we made a collision.”
Dozier, who expressed gratitude that Abreu was okay after the collision, compared it to his high school football days playing quarterback and getting sacked from the blindside.
Dozier said he had slight concussion symptoms that were gone within two days, but he’d been playing through a stiff neck for a little more than a week leading up to the collision. He’d been mired in an 0-for-31 slump at the plate prior to going on the IL.
He appeared in four games on his rehab assignment.
“I did have some minor concussion symptoms, but the big reason (for taking so much time away) was to let the neck just kind of calm down, but everything feels good now,” Dozier said. “And yeah, I wasn’t having a ton of success up here at the time. So just give me some at-bats since I was out for a week. It didn’t hurt.”
Kelvin Gutierrez, who was called up when Dozier went on the IL, has started at third in Dozier’s absence. Gutierrez, batting .270 since being recalled, will start at third again on Friday night. Whit Merrifield starts at second base, and Nicky Lopez will be on the bench to start the game.
“We’ll try to keep everybody sharp, but Gutie has been taking really good at-bats,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Obviously, that’s something we’ve been trying to really get going — our offense.”
Staumont, who leads the team with five saves, pitched in relief Wednesday night in Tampa Bay. His fastball velocity was noticeably down in that outing despite throwing a scoreless inning. Staumont has a 2.78 ERA with 25 strikeouts, 13 walks, a 1.19 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of 1.14 in 22 2/3 innings.
Matheny said the knee issue came up following Staumont’s latest outing against the Rays.
Royals pitching coach Cal Eldred and bullpen coach Larry Carter noticed some mechanical differences in Staumont’s delivery that may have been the result of him trying to generate more power, Matheny said.
It’s not completely clear if the knee injury was a result of overcompensating, but it seems the velocity dip and the injury may have been connected.
Hernández, 24, appeared out of the bullpen three times this season during a brief stint in the majors in April. He allowed four runs on six hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings of relief. He also made three starts and two relief appearances for the Royals last season.
Hernández has worked exclusively as a starter while at Triple-A Omaha this season. He has a 1-1 record with a 5.59 ERA in four starts. He has struck out 20 and walked five in 19 1/3 innings.
Matheny said Hernández will be available out of the bullpen on Friday night. The Royals still haven’t named a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game. Whether or not Hernández gets pressed into duty on Friday night figures to factor into that decision.
This story was originally published May 28, 2021 at 3:37 PM.
