Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe was placed on the injured list on Tuesday after fracturing his big toe on Monday. Renfroe was removed from Monday’s game after fouling two pitches from New York Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodón off his left foot.
Renfroe fouled a curveball off the toe, fell to one knee, and grimaced before fouling another curveball off his foot two pitches later. He fouled off a total of seven pitches before striking out in a 12-pitch at-bat. The 32-year-old outfielder went back to right field in the fourth inning before exiting at the start of the fifth.
“He went down in the cage and tried to move around a little bit,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “When he was out there and he came back in and then they got to take his shoe off and check it out, and he said he couldn’t keep going.”
On the season, Renfroe is hitting .200/.273/.365 with six homers and 26 RBI in 170 at-bats. But the nine-year veteran was playing well before his toe injury landed him on the 10-day injured list. Over his last 10 games, he was batting .343 with two home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored.
MJ Melendez replaced the veteran outfielder in the lineup, taking over in left field while Dairon Blanco moved to right. Blanco should see more work in right field while Renfroe is sidelined.
Royals Place Outfielder Hunter Renfroe on Injured List with Toe Fracture
The Royals called up Drew Waters from Triple-A Omaha to take Renfroe’s place on the active roster. Waters has batted .277/.350/.484 with a .834 OPS and seven homers through 50 games in Triple-A this season. The 25-year-old outfielder has drawn a lot of interest lately as fans clamor for his return to the big-league stage.
We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/wgse8YjqEq
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 11, 2024
Kansas City also recalled Nick Pratto in a corresponding move after placing infielder Adam Frazier on the bereavement list. Pratto’s last appearance for the Royals came in October. He batted .232/.307/.353 with seven home runs in 95 games in the majors last season. The 25-year-old former first-round pick has batted .234/.321/.385 through 53 games with Triple-A Omaha this season.
Both Pratto and Waters will be available on Tuesday for the second game of a four-game series against the Yankees. Since they both can play multiple positions, they’ll likely split time with Blanco and Garrett Hampson while Renfroe is sidelined.
The Royals are having their best season since their World Series win in 2015. Kansas City sits at 39-28, good for the fourth-best record in the American League. The Royals signed two veterans in Renfroe and Frazier this offseason, as the young Kansas City team looks to return to the postseason.
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