The Kansas City Royals are glad to have Michael Massey back in action, even if it's only as a hitter instead of his regular role at second base. The Royals have beaten the visiting Cleveland Guardians twice to open a four-game series that continues Saturday afternoon. Massey missed the first 19 games of the season due to a back injury.
He returned to play 29 games, then sat out 27 more contests because of a lower back ligament sprain before returning on Monday. The third-year player was hitting .294 before his latest absence.
He is just 2-for-11 in four games since his return, all as the designated hitter or a pinch hitter with the club being cautious about returning him to the field. "We're going to listen to him," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. "If it's not working, if he doesn't feel well, then we won't keep pushing, because we really value having his bat in there.
" Massey, who often bats fifth behind Salvador Perez, has a .283 average and six homers. The Royals own a 22-11 record when Massey plays, but they are 24-27 without him.
When Adam Frazier landed on the injured this week due to a right thumb strain, Maikel Garcia shifted to second with prospect CJ Alexander brought up from the minors to play third. "Maikel's a really good infielder," Quatraro said. "He's a shortstop by trade, so that's a more natural transition than what he did last year to learn third.
He will definitely play third again at some point, but we don't want to make it a day-to-day thing, back and.