Dayton Moore says Royals will look for ways to improve club after injuries
Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Thursday that the club will continue to monitor ways to improve the roster after losing left fielder Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas to significant injuries.
Whether that could come via the trade market, well, Moore said that possibility to still to be determined.
“It’s no different than any other year,” Moore said Thursday, after the club announced that Moustakas was out for the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. “We know that we’ll have to massage our roster, make changes to our roster.”
Last season, the Royals acquired right-hander Johnny Cueto and super-utility man Ben Zobrist before the July 31 trade deadline, fortifying a roster that had seized control of the American League Central.
“I have no idea what opportunities will present themselves to us as we move forward into the season,” Moore said. “This game changes, as we all know, minute to minute, day to day. This time last year, we weren’t for certain Ben Zobrist was going to be available or Johnny Cueto because those teams were still committed to the 2015 seasons. So we’ll just continue to look at it.”
The Royals expect Gordon to return from a broken scaphoid bone in his right hand by mid to late June or early July at the latest, depending on his recovery. Earlier this week, the club estimated that he could be out three to four weeks. He is expected to be re-evaluated next week.
For now, the Royals will take a look at Cheslor Cuthbert at third base and Whit Merrifield in the outfield and at second base. (Merrifield also has the ability to play third base.)
On Thursday, the club summoned outfielder Brett Eibner from Class AAA Omaha. Outfielder Reymond Fuentes, who began the season on the 25-man roster, is also an option to fill in here in Kansas City. But he is currently nursing a sore shoulder after running into a wall during a Class AAA game earlier this week. For now, Moore expressed confidence in the club’s internal replacements.
“The fact that we have had a lot of stability here, at the major-league level, they’ve had a chance to play a lot of games in the minor leagues,” Yost said, speaking of Cuthbert, Merrifield and Eibner. “And they have been waiting for their opportunity, and they’re hungry to perform and they understand the expectation. We’re looking forward to seeing them play.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Dayton Moore says Royals will look for ways to improve club after injuries."