Royals catcher Cam Gallagher strains hamstring in loss to Yankees; MJ Melendez promoted
Cam Gallagher might’ve hopped around on one leg or dragged a limp leg around behind the plate if Royals manager Mike Matheny and the Kansas City training staff had let him.
Gallagher, the club’s backup catcher, strained his hamstring in the bottom of the third inning of Sunday’s series finale against the New York Yankees, but he gutted it out for another full inning until Matheny pulled Gallagher for a pinch runner.
By the time reporters were in the clubhouse after the game, Gallagher had an MRI done and the Royals had already announced they’re placing him on the injured list and recalling catcher and last year’s Minor League Baseball home run leader MJ Melendez from Triple-A Omaha. The roster move is expected to officially come on Monday.
Gallagher started at catcher in place of Salvador Perez, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter for the day game following a night game.
“I did not want to come out,” Gallagher said. “Being a backup catcher, you gotta give a guy a day. He catches a lot of games during the year. I’ve gotta give him a day. I was trying to do whatever I could to stay in the game, let him rest his legs.
“Obviously, me wanting to do that and doing what’s best for the team is different, so we had to make the move.”
Gallagher suffered a grade 2 strain on a base hit to left field as part of a three-run third inning for the Royals.
“I’m feeling alright. I’m just a little frustrated right now, but it is what it is and I’ve just got to take it one day at a time,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher said he felt something “grab” in his leg as he ran to first base on a single in his first at-bat of the game in the third inning.
Gallagher did not move well when Nicky Lopez grounded into a fielder’s choice. The Yankees got the force out at second base, which allowed Gallagher to return to the dugout.
“It hurt pretty good, but I tried to stay in,” Gallagher said. “I tried to give Sal a day. You know, that’s my job. It’s really frustrating, especially with us losing three in a row to the Yankees right now.”
Gallagher remained in the game behind the plate the next inning. His turn in the batting order came up again in the next inning, and he reached base on a fielder’s choice when he laid down a bunt. He initially ran for himself, but then Ryan O’Hearn entered the game as a pinch runner for Gallagher at first base.
“We were planning on him going as long as he could go,” Matheny said. “But you could just see kind of how (a player is) reacting to whatever injury is there. Talking to the training staff. Is there a chance that he can make this worse? Knowing that it’s a tough spot when your catcher is in the DH position early in the game.
“He gets the bunt down and they force him out at first base, he probably goes back out and catches a little bit more and we just try to limit the running. But you get on first base and it’s a close game, we’ve gotta make a move.”
Perez moved from DH to catcher to start the fifth inning, and the Royals went without the DH for the rest of the game.
Melendez, who has not appeared in a major-league regular season game, went into this season ranked the No. 42 prospect in the minors by Baseball America.
A left-handed hitting former second-round draft pick out of high school, Melendez slashed .288/.386/.625 and launched 41 home runs in 123 games between Double-A (28) and Triple-A (13) in 2021.
He was the first player since 2016 to hit 40 homers or more in a single minor-league season and the 14th player to do so since 1990. He also became the first primary catcher with 40 homers or more in the minors since Todd Greene hit 40 in 1995.
Rivera and Peacock optioned to minors
Following Sunday’s game, the Royals optioned infielder Emmanuel Rivera and relief pitcher Matt Peacock to Triple-A Omaha to reduce their major-league roster from 28 players to 26 players, per MLB rules.
Prior to the start of the season, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to have an expanded roster through May 1. The expanded 28-man roster was due to the shortened spring training camp this winter in the aftermath of the MLB lockout and collective bargaining negotiations.
Starting on May 2, MLB teams can have no more than 26 players on their active roster and no more than 14 pitchers.
Following Sunday’s roster moves, the Royals currently have 14 pitchers and 12 position players on their roster.
