Where things stand as Royals star Maikel Garcia nurses left-hand injury
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Maikel Garcia is nursing a sore left hand that worsened after fouling balls Tuesday.
- Royals have given treatments and will evaluate Garcia over the next 2-3 days.
- Garcia said a few small muscles near the top/back of his hand were aggravated by swings.
The Kansas City Royals will take a few days to evaluate their options regarding All-Star third baseman Maikel Garcia as he deals with a sore left hand.
On Tuesday, Garcia took a few awkward swings against the Washington Nationals. He fouled a couple pitches off and noticeably grimaced upon contact.
The pain continued to get worse. And in the sixth inning, Garcia exited the game and didn’t play in Wednesday’s series finale at Nationals Park.
“I feel good,” Garcia said. “Always feel good (hitting in) the cage and taking ground balls. Just when I make those swings, the pains come.”
Garcia said he doesn’t feel pain unless it’s a foul ball or an unusual swing. The Royals have run tests and given him treatment. However, the injury stems from a few muscles near the top of his hand that continue to be aggravated.
In recent weeks, Garcia has played through the injury. He initially felt pain last month during the Royals’ road trip in St. Louis. Often he’s felt fine swinging a bat, but there are times when he feels a sharp discomfort.
“We don’t have time to take (after the swing),” Garcia said. “When you make the swing, you have 15 seconds. You have to be in the box in eight seconds and I don’t take rest when I have to be in the box with pain. I mean, I can’t do my job.”
Sometimes the sharp pains linger. It was the case on Tuesday as Garcia couldn’t finish the game.
Garcia also said his hand hurts when he swings on pitches away. It’s why he noticed teams have stopped trying to challenge him inside.
As far as a potential recovery timeline, Garcia believes it’s tough to prognosticate because the injury is chronic in nature.
“Honestly, it’s weird because they don’t have like a definite time to get better because it’s a muscle there,” Garcia said. “I can take two weeks, then get back into a game and my first swing can hurt.”
The Royals are doing what they can to help Garcia deal with the pain.
“My understanding is there are a couple small muscles in the back of the hand that are aggravated,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “The only way to aggravate them is when you swing. And in his case, when you don’t square a ball up essentially.”
It’s possible that rest is the best thing to alleviate the soreness. However, both sides are operating with unknowns on how and when the injury will truly heal.
“We’re gonna try to go these couple 2-3 days and see if it resolves as the medicine hopefully takes hold and see if there is anything there,” Quatraro said. “But again, it’s a very tough call at that time.”
The Royals host the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game series beginning Thursday night. It’s possible Garcia will not be in the lineup as he deals with the injury.
And a potential stint on the injury list is not off the table.
“This game is hard to do playing 100%,” Garcia said. “So you can imagine playing like 70% is harder.”
