The Kansas City Royals are currently in playoff position for 2024 as they sit tied with the Detroit Tigers for the 2nd American League wild-card spot.
If they can hold on, it would be their first playoff appearance since winning the 2015 World Series 4-1 against the New York Mets.
While this Royals team is good, they are missing one of their key players due to injury but received some encouraging news Thursday.
According to Royals reporter Jaylon T. Thompson, Vinnie Pasquantino took batting practice before Thursday’s game against the Washington Nationals.
#Royals 1B Vinnie Pasquantino taking batting practice today at Nationals Park.
Another step in his recovery after his right thumb injury. pic.twitter.com/jBOprcqeZF
— Jaylon T. Thompson (@jaylonthompson) September 26, 2024
Pasquantino broke his thumb during a game in August against the Houston Astros.
The injury required surgery, and he was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 30th with an expected recovery time of 6 to 8 weeks.
Thursday has only been about 3 weeks worth of recovery, so Pasquantino appears to be ahead of schedule thus far.
It appears as if the Royals will not only need to make the playoffs but win at least 1 series if they want to see Pasquantino back in the lineup.
The Royals would love to have Pasquantino back for the postseason as he’s batting .262 with 19 home runs, 97 runs batted in, and a .760 on-base plus slugging percentage on the season.
With another win on Thursday against the Nationals, the Royals magic number drops to 2 with 3 games left to play.
Friday marks the start of the last series of the 2024 regular season.
The Royals will travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves in a crucial 3 game series.
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