3:30pm : The Royals announced that Pasquantino has been placed on the 10-day injured list with Loftin recalled as the corresponding move. 10:30am : The Royals announced that first baseman has a broken right thumb. He is scheduled for further testing today but the club says he wont be able to return for six to eight weeks. Given that timeline, hell mi s the remainder of the regular season and would need the club to put together a deep postseason run to be a factor late in October. During last nights game against the Astros, hit a comebacker to right-hander , who attempted to field the ball with his bare hand. Erceg knocked the ball down, picked it up and fired to first. The ball arrived at the bag around the same time as Diaz, who made contact with Pasquantino as the first baseman attempted to field the throw ( from MLB.com). Both Erceg and Pasquantino were visibly injured and removed from the game after the play. Manager Matt Quatraro told reporters after the game that both players would undergo X-rays, per broadcaster Joel Goldberg on X. The Royals havent yet provided an update on Erceg, but the news on Pasquantino is devastating. Hes been a key bat for the club this year, hitting 19 home runs while limiting his strikeout rate to 12.8%. His .262/.315/.446 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 106. Thats only six percent better than league average but the Royals have had a fairly top-heavy offense this year. has been elite and has been great, but theres a big drop-off without Pasquantino in the mix. The only others players on the team with an above-average wRC+ this year are , and . Fermins output is fuelled by a .344 batting average on balls in play that he will struggle to maintain while DeJong has been a boom-and-bust players for years, alternating between home run surges and big strikeout woes. The lineup looks a lot le s imposing without Pasquantino in it and the Royals Marcell Ozuna Jersey will now have to proceed in his absence. Despite that fairly middling offense, the club has been able to ride Witts amazing season and a strong rotation to a record of 75-60. They are in the middle of a three-way battle for the Central division, currently 1.5 games back of the Guardians but two ahead of the Twins. Both the Royals and Twins currently hold Wild Card spots, with Boston 3.5 games back of Minnesota for the final slot. The club will now have to navigate the remainder of the regular season and at least the beginning of the playoffs while figuring out a solution at first base. Perez has gotten into 35 games there, including 31 starts, usually with Pasquantino slotting in as the designated hitter. Perhaps Perez will play first more often but Fermin wont be able to catch every day, so Perez will have to be behind the plate from time to time. Perhaps the club will turn to one of or , as both are multi-positional guys capable of playing first and each is having a good season in Triple-A. Loftin is slashing .331/.422/.509 for the Storm Chasers while Alexander is hitting .303/.352/.554. But neither player has hit in the majors yet, as Loftin has a line of .236/.316/.305 in 232 big league plate appearances while Alexander slashed .125/.125/.125 through his eight trips to the major league plate. The Royals could look outside the organization for more offense, though their options will be limited now that the trade deadline has pa sed. Players like and have reportedly been put on waivers this week. Neither is a real first base solution but they could conceivably help with the DH spot. Its likely there are other names on the wire that havent been reported. Any player claimed prior to September 1 is playoff-eligible with his new team. The next few days should shed some light on how the Royals respond. For Pasquantino, itll be a second consecutive season marked by injury. His 2023 campaign was ended in June by shoulder surgery, limiting him to just 61 games. He got into 131 contests this year but he wont be able to increase that number now. He is slated to qualify for arbitration after 2025 and free agency after 2028. Max Fried Jersey