KANSAS CITY, Mo. — We’ve all heard about rookie mistakes, and Kansas City Royals rookie Carter Jensen made one today.
Prior to first pitch for the Royals’ afternoon matchup against the Minnesota Twins, Jensen was surprisingly nowhere to be found in the lineup.
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Well, that’s because the 22-year-old catcher overslept, putting Salvador Perez behind the plate instead and moving Jac Caglianone into the DH spot.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro referred to it as an “oversight.”
“Just didn’t wake up to my alarm, slept through it. Don’t really have an excuse, nor should I. It sucks. Happens. I felt like I let teammates down, coaches down. Just learn from it and know it won’t happen again.”
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino showed some tough love towards the rookie, emphasizing what happened is unacceptable.
“You got a 36-year-old catcher who’s preparing to DH today, and then his world gets a little rocked that an hour and a half before the game, he’s not gonna be DHing. So, give credit to Salvy today for being ready,” Pasquantino said.
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“First and foremost, we’re glad Carter’s okay. That was kind of the initial thought when you’re trying to get ahold of his parents and everything like that to just make sure he’s okay. But once you find out he’s okay, it’s like alright, it’s a growing moment. There is some things that cannot happen and that’s one of them.”
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The Royals have very high expectations for Jensen, who was a rookie of the year candidate for this season after a strong finish to 2025.
They also could have used his services on Thursday, as they fell 5-1 to the Twins, halting their attempt at a sweep.
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“There’s a lot to learn from it. Making sure if I don’t set one alarm, maybe set three, four, as many as possible. Moving forward, that’s what I’m going to do, set a million alarms. Make sure I’m up, it stinks though,” Jensen said.
He did enter the game in the ninth inning after Tyler Tolbert came in to pinch run for Perez in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Jensen and the Royals are looking to move past this and get ready to host the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game series.
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