​BALTIMORE (AP) — The Kansas City Royals brought back first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino from the injured list on Friday after he sat out more than three weeks with a fractured right hamate bone. Pasquantino did not appear in the Royals’ starting lineup for the opener of a three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles, though manager Matt Quatraro indicated he would be available to pinch hit.
Pasquantino injured his wrist on June 13 when his hand contacted the ball during a swing. At that time, Kansas City projected he might miss as much as six weeks. “He set his goal really early to get back before the All-Star break, and he had to do a lot of hard work to get here,” Quatraro said.
The 28-year-old Pasquantino went 4-for-11 with three walks and an RBI over three rehab games this week with Triple-A Omaha. He described his hand as feeling normal and said there was only minimal lingering soreness. “That’s why we do it,” he said. “I owe it to my teammates, the organization, the fans, everybody to do whatever I can to get back as soon as I can. That’s how I approach these things. We obviously wouldn’t do it if I didn’t feel comfortable and if they didn’t feel comfortable.”
This season, Pasquantino is batting .224 with six homers and 32 RBIs. Last year, he posted career highs with 32 home runs and 113 RBIs while leading Kansas City in both categories. “Had a lot of time to think about what happened in the first half,” he reflected. “Think we made some good adjustments to what we’re doing, but at the end of the day, you have to put numbers up.”
In corresponding moves, Kansas City recalled right-hander Eli Morgan from Omaha and optioned outfielder Kameron Misner and pitcher Jose Cuas to the Triple-A club. Misner hit .220 with four RBIs over 18 games, while Cuas went 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA in five relief appearances.