Kansas City Royals’ Ryan Yarbrough shares positive update after line-drive incident
The Royals had a special visitor in the clubhouse on Saturday. Royals pitcher Ryan Yarbrough returned to greet his teammates and the coaching staff just a couple weeks after he suffered multiple facial fractures against the Oakland Athletics.
“I’m really blessed with how I have been able to go about things,” Yarbrough said. “Everyone who has kind of took care of me from the medical staff here, our doctors, team doctors, getting over to KU and everyone at the ER was great and took good care of me.”
Yarbrough was hit by a line drive during his May 8 start. In the sixth inning, Yarbrough was struck by a 106.2 mph comebacker off the bat of A’s first baseman Ryan Noda. Yarbrough collapsed to the ground before being helped off the field by the Royals training staff.
He never lost consciousness during the scary incident. He detailed his immediate thoughts heading into the clubhouse and then being transported to the emergency room.
“I remember going through the whole process of coming into here and then obviously to the ER, having my wife here with me through just a scary moment,” Yarbrough said. “Very fortunate I think not losing consciousness, (which was) obviously a really good sign. I was kind of blessed in that regard.”
In the following days, Yarbrough said he heard from multiple people. He appreciated the outpouring of support from teammates, coaches, family, fans and all that heard the news. He also spoke with Noda and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Bassitt.
Bassitt also dealt with a similar injury during the 2021 season.
“I feel like the biggest thing that stood out is the support I got,” Yarbrough said. “All the outreach I received over the next couple of days. It took me a while to get back to people because of everything that happened. I didn’t look at my phone for like a week.
“All the thoughts and prayers from everyone was above and beyond what I expected. It shows just how many people were caring and thinking about you in that moment.”
Yarbrough mentioned he is playing catch on the field. It’s the next step in his progression and doctors are keeping close tabs on his activity level. He also has an upcoming doctor’s visit to gather further updates on his injury.
“I have a four-week appointment to see where I’m at with the healing process and just kind of go from there,” Yarbrough said. “Until then, just kind of staying active and doing everything I can. Obviously, I can progress from there after the meeting.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro was excited to see Yarbrough in the clubhouse. He highlighted the recovery and was grateful to see him feeling better.
“It’s very special,” Quatraro said. “I can’t imagine what that was like for him or his family to endure that. I feel really good for him and for them that he is OK. I feel very fortunate that is the outcome — the surgeries and he got through the concussion stuff. He seems like he is back to his normal self.”
Yarbrough appeared in 10 games (three starts) this season. He owns a 6.15 ERA across 26 1/3 innings of work. However, he allowed just one earned run in two of his three starts.
The MLB veteran hopes to return soon. He understands the process and knows that it will take a daily approach to come back at full strength.
“It’s one of those freak accidents and something that is really out of everyone’s control,” Yarbrough said. “It wasn’t something you can really avoid. It’s an unfortunate part of the game and luckily it doesn’t happen very often. I’m very blessed to be here right now and feeling a lot better and progressing in the right direction.”
