As Vinnie Pasquantino continues his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha, the Royals had another key player, Maikel Garcia, make his return to the field with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Thursday. Garcia was supposed to play a rehab game Wednesday, but travel issues delayed that plan.
The Royals’ third baseman has been on the 10-day injured list since June 23 with a left hand muscle strain, but the injury had been an issue for most of the season. It affected Garcia on only certain types of swings, so he attempted to play through it for as long as he could, knowing that the recovery process was going to be a long one. By the end of June, though, it was clear he needed to take an extended rest.
That recovery process included letting the strain heal and then a hitting progression that utilized a different type of bat and the Trajekt machine to mimic the pitches and locations that Garcia felt the most discomfort with when the injury occurred. Still, there was no mimicking real game action. When Garcia began a rehab assignment on July 28, he felt similar discomfort in his hand, so he went back to Kansas City, saw a hand specialist, received a cortisone shot and gave the process another two weeks.
Here’s what else to know about this current rehab assignment:
How did Garcia perform?
Garcia went 0-for-1 and walked three times in Northwest Arkansas’ 10-3 loss to Springfield on Thursday. He played the entire game in the field at third base.
What’s next?
Given that Garcia has been out of game action for almost two months, and that the last rehab assignment only lasted a day before he needed further evaluation, it’s likely that the Royals proceed cautiously with Garcia’s timeline moving forward. He’ll take it day by day as he ramps up his workload, with the hope that the pain doesn’t continue.
What else?
This injury, which deals with the very small muscles in the top of the hand, isn’t a new one to the Royals; outfielder Lorenzo Cain dealt with something similar in 2015 and played through it during that World Series championship year in Kansas City. Extended rest like Garcia has gotten is typically the best way for it to recover, although the timeline varies for each individual.
Coming off a breakout 2025 season, a five-year extension and an MVP title in the World Baseball Classic, this season has been a bit of a letdown for Garcia, who had a .261/.320/.373 slash line with 17 doubles and three home runs in 69 games before the injury paused his season. Finishing the season strong, healthy and on the field is a big goal for him, despite the Royals’ disappointing year, because he’s going to be counted on both offensively and defensively in ‘27.