CLEVELAND -- The Royals had a familiar face and one they hope plays a key part of their season return to the big leagues on Monday, with Michael Massey's reinstatement from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a left calf strain sustained in Spring Training.
Massey had been on the IL since Opening Day and sidelined since March 6 with a Grade 2 calf strain, which had a recovery timeline of four to eight weeks from when he injured it during a Cactus League game in Arizona on March 8. Monday marked just past four weeks.
“Swing feels good, body feels good,” Massey said. “I don’t really think about the calf too much at this point, which is a credit to our trainers and our masseuse, Nicky, and the work that they’ve done. ... To be on the short end of [the timeline] is just a credit to those guys.”
In a corresponding move, the Royals optioned utility man Nick Loftin to Triple-A Omaha. Loftin had logged nine at-bats in four games since breaking camp with the club and posted a .697 OPS.
With Massey returning and being able to play second base and left field, which were the two positions Loftin was getting the most playing time, the Royals didn’t see enough at-bats for Loftin to justify having him on the roster versus playing regularly in Omaha.
“It’s a difficult message, because he’s been on this for a couple of years now where he’s gone back and forth, and by no means do we think he can’t play in the big leagues,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “It’s just a roster management thing right now, and we want him to play.”
Massey wasn’t in the lineup on Monday in Cleveland. But he figures to get playing time at second base and left field, as well as be another lefty bat off the bench, a pinch-runner if needed or a defensive replacement, as he’s the Royals’ best defensive option at second base.
Quatraro has been rotating the bottom half of his lineup based on different matchups, but also to help keep players fresh -- like on Sunday against the Brewers, when outfielders Isaac Collins and Kyle Isbel didn’t start, because they played both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader. The Royals have been mindful of the workload for two players with lower-body-injury histories.
Massey will now fit in that left-field rotation, as well as second base with right-handed hitter Jonathan India.
“We’ll rotate guys. We’ll keep guys fresh,” Quatraro said. “The way we use the team, guys will come off the bench. Sometimes they don’t start, but the biggest at-bats of the game or the biggest plays in the field are when you come off the bench.”
The 2026 season is all about staying healthy for the 28-year-old Massey, who logged just 77 games in ‘25 due to several injuries (ankle, wrist and back). That’s why it was disappointing for him to land on the IL to start ‘26, but he and the Royals were always hopeful that it wouldn’t be a long stint.
Massey knows he has to prove both from a health and production standpoint to earn more and more at-bats, and he’s ready to do that while also performing in whatever role the team needs.
“Anything that helps us win,” Massey said. “I think I’ve learned throughout my career that at times, that’s starting. Other times, it’s coming off the bench and helping the team defensively or coming up with a big pinch-hit. Being a great teammate. Just all those things. It’s kind of like being a Swiss Army knife.”