The Kansas City Royals welcomed back a key player ahead of Monday evening’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field.
The Royals reinstated infielder Michael Massey from the 10-day injured list. He had missed 65 games with a litany of injuries. He was initially sidelined with a left-ankle sprain before later injuring his right wrist and dealing with tightness in his back.
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“It’s been tough,” Massey said of his recovery. “Obviously, it’s not easy to deal with the injuries and the swing changes and all that stuff.”
Massey performed well during his rehab assignment in Triple-A Omaha, however. He hit .258 (25-for-97) with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 25 games. The Royals had him available for Monday’s game against the White Sox.
The Royals also optioned rookie outfielder John Rave on Monday. He will return to Triple-A Omaha after posting a .199 batting average in 63 major-league games this year.
Massey adds another left-handed bat to the Royals’ lineup. He is primarily a second baseman but has also spent time in left field this season. The Royals had both Jonathan India and Adam Frazier entrenched at second base while Massey was sidelined.
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It remains to be seen how Royals manager Matt Quatraro will make his defensive assignments with Massey back in the fold. Massey brings some left-handed power and that could grant him more opportunities in the lineup.
There are scenarios in which Massey, India and Frazier will all be in the lineup at the same time, with the designated hitter spot in play. For now, the Royals just know they’re getting back a key piece of their roster with the stretch run toward the postseason on the horizon.
Massey was hitting just .202 with two home runs and 14 RBIs before being sidelined. But he has typically been a solid contributor when healthy, and the Royals will bank on that moving forward.
“I think it was using the time to tinker a little bit,” he said. “Obviously, what I was doing before was quite a bit of holes in it. I’m not blind to that. The great part about playing every day is that it’s going to let you know if you got something wrong. And it let me know I had something wrong.”
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Massey said he worked on evening out his swing. He described that process as taking some old traits and combining them with new habits. He hopes to be a more consistent version of himself at the plate.
“I just love showing up and trying to problem-solve and figure things out,” he said. “That’s kind of what gets you through. The numbers are the numbers, but I have more motivation than how many homers I hit or RBIs.”
Massey is playing close to his childhood home this week. He performs well at Rate Field, having his four home runs with nine RBIs in 13 career games there before Monday.
The Royals wasted no time getting Massey back into the lineup. He batted eighth and played left field Monday night.