The Royals put a center fielder Kyle Isbell on the 10-day injured list before Wednesday’s game against Texas. Cameron Misner he was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in a related move.
Isbel is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Manager Matt Quatraro tells MLB.com’s Anne Rogers that the team is waiting on MRI results before having a timeline for his return. Isbel was playing with foot discomfort but had to leave last night’s game early.
The 29-year-old has been given the opportunity to play in the center of the field for the fourth season in a row. He provides his usual combination of solid defense and below-average production at the plate. Isbel is hitting .244/.298/.354 with three home runs over 183 plate appearances. Kansas City’s pitching has been a problem again, ranking 22nd in OPS with a .239/.329/.355 batting line.
Isbel’s injury should give Misner a chance to play for his team for the first time. A Missouri native who played his college ball at the University of Missouri, Misner hit .203/.260/.325 in 79 games with the Rays during 2024-25. Kansas City acquired him at the start of last season in a DFA trade but kept him at option for the rest of the year.
The left-handed hitting Misner has an interesting set of tools. He is an excellent runner with great bat speed and a strong arm, all of which made him a first-round pick back in 2019. The production still hasn’t been the same, as the 6’3″ Misner hasn’t connected enough at the big league level. He has combined for Triple-A this season, hitting .276/.373/.547 with 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases. He is striking out at a 27% clip, however, which remains consistent with his previous strikeout and miss rates.
Misner can play anywhere in the outfield, so he could replace Isbel as the left side of the center field team. Lane Thomas is on the list tonight and Texas is sending a lefty MacKenzie Gore on the mound. Thomas is flanked by the common corner of Isaac Collins again Jac Caglianone.
Elsewhere on the roster, the Royals made a change in the back of their bullpen. Alex Lange pitched a scoreless inning with several strikeouts to earn a 5-3 victory in the series opener. It was the righty’s fourth save in as many games this past week. Lange is riding a nine-game scoreless streak and has thrown 16 1/3 innings of three-run ball since the start of May.
Quatraro declined to label the closer when he talked about the ninth inning last week, calling it a matchup situation (link via MLB.com’s Mike Petraglia). Usage certainly suggests that Lange is the preferred option right now.
The Royals weren’t there Carlos Estévez from Opening Day. Lucas Erceg was the obvious first choice to step into the closing role, but he hasn’t found his spot all year. Erceg allowed an even 6.00 ERA with a low 18.8% strikeout rate while walking over 14% of opposing hitters. He had hit four straight games until June 3.
That opened up Lange, a Kansas City native who signed with his hometown team for $900K over the winter. The LSU product saved 26 games for the Tigers in 2023. His career didn’t take off after that, as he struggled in early ’24 and was optioned to Triple-A. Lange was seriously injured shortly after going to the minors and required 14 months of surgery. Detroit released him at the end of last season.
Despite Lange’s recent success, the Royals have had one of the best hitting bulls in the American League. That would be an obvious area for improvement if they are in a position to add at the deadline. Kansas City has the third-worst record in the AL and is 11 games under .500, but has won three straight and is only 4.5 back in the open Wild Card race.
Unsurprisingly, the front office is in no rush to decide their deadline. “There are too many teams still in this. If you look at where we are right now, we’re (4.5) games out of the wild card race,” president of baseball operations JJ Picollo said Tuesday (link via Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star). “The last thing we’re thinking about is the trade deadline right now.” Picollo suggested they are unlikely to make any real trade decisions before the All-Star Break.
