It’s been a day for outfield news in Kansas City. Earlier on Saturday the Royals acquired outfielder Randal Grichuk from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now it seems they have made a roster move to accommodate him, placing outfielder Jac Caglianone on the 10-day injured list.
Caglianone was replaced in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader after one at-bat by MJ Melendez. He did not appear in the second game. No team ever wants an injury to pop up, but it’s convenient timing for the Royals after adding a new player to the roster in Grichuk. This gives them another ten days to figure out who to send down after the trade put them over the roster limit.
It may end up being Caglianone himself. The sixth pick in the 2024 draft, Caglianone mashed in the minor leagues all the way to a big-league call-up well ahead of schedule. Kansas City was desperate for some offensive production in its outfield, and he has provided some power with five home runs.
But that’s where it ends. In 150 at-bats, he’s hitting .146 with a .480 OPS. Even in the Royals’ dire need for hitting, that won’t cut it. And now they have a solid bat in Grichuk to deploy. It’s possible that the Kansas City brass will decide to slow Caglianone’s development and return him to Triple-A Omaha. We’ll see what else changes on the roster as his absence stretches through the trade deadline.
