MINNEAPOLIS -- Royals left fielder Alex Gordon seemed to almost sense the question coming.
So when asked on Tuesday if his stint on the disabled list for a fractured bone in his right wrist might actually give him a needed mental break, Gordon cut in and said, "Because I've [been bad] so far this year? Yeah, pretty much. I haven't played the way I've wanted to this year.
"Hopefully when I get back, I'll be feeling better at the plate and help the team better than I've done."
Gordon, after signing a four-year, $72 million contract in the offseason, has struggled out of the gate in 2016. He's hitting .211 with a .650 OPS.

After a violent collision with third baseman Mike Moustakas while chasing a foul ball in Chicago on Sunday, Gordon will miss a sizeable chunk of the season -- likely four weeks.
Gordon missed even more time last season with a significant groin injury.
"It's frustrating because you want to be out there every day to help the team," Gordon said. "The DL isn't very fun, as I learned last year. I'm just going to keep my head up and stay positive, and come back ready to go."
Gordon believes he injured his right wrist as he was bracing his fall.
"I'm pretty sure that's how it happened," Gordon said. "I didn't feel it until I walked back to the outfield. There was a lot going on with my head and my [rear] cheek [hurting].
"I came in after the inning and I tried to take some swings, and I could swing, but it was a little aggravating. Then the X-rays came back and it wasn't good."
The scaphoid bone can take longer than four weeks to heal, but Gordon said he was told by Minnesota doctors that the break didn't require surgery.
"It's what I've been told, but I haven't met with our doctors, just the Minnesota doctors," Gordon said. "But it sounds like four weeks. They said it was broken in a good spot."