KC places All-Star 3B Garcia (hand) on IL; Witt misses 4th straight game
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Third baseman Maikel Garcia is heading to the injured list with a left hand muscle strain, the Royals announced Tuesday. In a corresponding move, utility infielder Josh Rojas was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.
Garcia missed three games at the end of last week due to hand soreness, which he said he has been dealing with for about a month. The 26-year-old returned to the lineup on Sunday and Monday and served as the shortstop in both games, covering for the ailing Bobby Witt Jr, who was out of Kansas City's lineup for a fourth consecutive game on Tuesday against the Rays as he battles a right knee sprain.
As he did when Garcia was manning shortstop the past two games, Nick Loftin started at third base again on Tuesday, with utility man Tyler Tolbert getting the nod at short.
Garcia was in visible pain after fouling off a pitch in his first plate appearance Monday night. Though he stayed in the game, he has said before that anything outside of clean contact caused pain when hitting.
Garcia’s soreness dates back to the Royals’ series in St. Louis from May 15-17. It happened on a swing in the second game. Imaging taken shows a strain of his lumbrical muscles, which are located in the hand and are responsible for fine motor control and dexterity.
While Garcia managed the pain, his performance took a hit at the plate. He was hitting just .227 in June with a .610 OPS and no home runs. Garcia, who broke out in 2025 with his first All-Star appearance and a Gold Glove Award, was carrying a 90 wRC+ in 2026. That means he was 10% below average in overall offensive production.
“My last homer was before St. Louis,” Garcia said. “After that, I’m not making damage in the box and hitting. It’s not an excuse, but I’m not being myself. I’m trying to help my team because we’ve been fighting, like all season, and I want to be part of winning and bring something to the team. Playing like that is hard to do. This game is hard to do [when you] play 100%. So you can imagine playing at 70% is harder.”
Rojas, 31, played two games earlier this month for Kansas City, going 1-for-5 with a double. The veteran of eight Major League seasons has hit .251/.313/.445 in Triple-A this season while playing third base, second base and shortstop.