KC Royals’ Michael A. Taylor dealing with shoulder soreness after pitching in relief
The Kansas City Royals’ Gold Glove winning center fielder Michael A. Taylor has been temporarily held out of his typical duties roaming the outfield at Kauffman Stadium due to a shoulder ailment that cropped up after the first pitching appearance of his career.
Taylor has not played in the field since Saturday’s game, a contest he finished on the mound throwing two innings in relief in a blowout loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Royals manager Mike Matheny said Taylor has been dealing with shoulder soreness and his status is considered day-to-day.
The soreness first became an issue the day after Taylor pitched. He did not play on Sunday, and he served as the designated hitter in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader.
He did not play in the second game, though Matheny said Taylor was on the verge of entering that game as a defensive replacement before the Royals added insurance runs in the eighth inning.
Taylor said after Saturday’s game that he’d volunteered for the pitching assignment. He pitched two innings in order to save the Royals from further depleting their relief corps in a game that had already gotten out of reach.
He showed off his strong arm by touching just shy of 94 mph in that outing.
While speaking with reporters after the game on Saturday, Taylor also said his primary objective was to not get hurt. At the time, Taylor said he’d believed he’d accomplished that goal.
So far this season, Taylor has batted .264 with a .340 on-base percentage, five home runs and 24 RBIs.
Royals infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield, a former two-time All-Star, is also currently limited by a foot injury that forced him out of the lineup on Monday and ended his franchise-record consecutive games played streak at 553. Merrifield status is also currently considered day-to-day according to the Royals.
This story was originally published July 12, 2022 at 7:32 PM.
