Former Kansas City Royals top draft pick Nick Pratto among eight newcomers in Toronto
The Kansas City Royals that took the field at the Rogers Centre for batting practice and drills on Thursday were a vastly different group than the one that wrapped up its homestand with a second consecutive series win the day before.
Left behind when the Royals set out for Canada were 10 players, nearly 40% of their roster, due to the Canadian travel restrictions that require proof of vaccination against COVID-19. The 10 players, having declined to receive the widely available vaccine, were placed on the restricted list prior to Thursday’s game.
The Royals promoted first baseman Nick Pratto, infielder Maikel Garcia, catcher Sebastian Rivero, left-handed pitcher Angel Zerpa, infielder Nate Eaton, catcher Freddy Fermin, outfielder Brewer Hicklen and infielder Michael Massey from the minor leagues to the active roster prior to the series opener with the Toronto Blue Jays.
That group stepped in for All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, relief pitcher Dylan Coleman, first baseman/outfielder Hunter Dozier, backup catcher Cam Gallagher, outfielder Kyle Isbel, starting pitcher Brad Keller, rookie catcher MJ Melendez, two-time All-Star infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield, starting pitcher Brady Singer and Gold Glove-winning center fielder Michael A. Taylor.
The Royals currently have 24 active players on their roster. They expect to add two more during the weekend.
The Royals also brought a taxi squad of players with them to Toronto consisting of minor-league players who could be added to the active roster in case of injury or other need.
Catcher Tyler Cropley, infielder/outfielder Clay Dungan, right-handed starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez, left-handed relief pitcher Gabe Speier and right-handed relief pitcher Collin Snider are on the taxi squad.
Right-handed relief pitcher Josh Staumont, who is on the injured list, also traveled with the team.
Keller is not replaceable on the 26-man roster until Friday and Singer until Sunday. Pitchers who appear in four or more innings are not replaceable once they go on the reserve list until four days after such appearances.
The newcomers and the vaccinated players who remained on the roster will try to pick up the slack for a group that included three All-Star selections, two Gold Gloves, more than 35 seasons of major-league service time (combined), an entire catching core with Salvador Perez on the injured list, a starting outfield and the most consistent member of their starting rotation this season in Keller. The case could be made that Singer has been the second-most consistent, though he wouldn’t have been scheduled to pitch in the series.
Injuries held Merrifield and Taylor out of recent games as their status has been considered “day-to-day.” Even still, the Royals will lose four position players from Wednesday’s starting lineup as well as the starting pitcher and one of the relievers that pitched in what was ultimately a three-run game.
Zerpa was the Royals’ starting pitcher Thursday night and Pratto and Eaton made their major-league debuts playing first base and center field. Zack Greinke, Daniel Lynch, and Kris Bubic will start the rest of the games in Toronto through Sunday.
This story was originally published July 14, 2022 at 3:10 PM.
