No concussion for Infante; evaluation to continue

KANSAS CITY -- The news was about as good as could be hoped for about Royals second baseman Omar Infante on Tuesday morning.

The Royals said Infante did not sustain a concussion or a broken jaw as a result of being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning of Monday night's 4-2 win over the Rays.

Infante sustained a non-concussive head injury with a laceration on the lower left side of his face that required six stitches. He also had a sprain of his right jaw due to the impact of the pitch.

"It's a lot better than it could have been, that's for sure," Royals manager Ned Yost said.

The results came after Infante was treated and examined at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

"I think he's going to be OK," Yost said. "We're just going to have to have to take a little bit of time with him. He could hardly talk last night, he couldn't even open his jaw and that's what made me nervous, but it'll be OK."

The team had no immediate plans to place Infante on the disabled list or to recall another infielder from the Minor Leagues, according to team spokesman Mike Swanson.

"We're still evaluating our options and we'll go from there," Yost said.

Infante will be evaluated over the next 48 hours and, based on the medical team's initial diagnosis, it does not appear that he'll miss a significant amount of time.

There was deep concern after Infante was struck by right-hander Heath Bell's pitch as he led off the Royals' seventh inning because there was a large amount of blood from the wound. Infante went down after the impact, but he was able to regain his feet and walked off the field under his own power.

When the Royals left Kauffman Stadium after the game, they didn't know if Infante had sustained a concussion or if his jaw might be broken.

"It could have been a real devastating situation," general manager Dayton Moore said. "It was very scary, but Omar is a terrific competitor and very strong-willed and he'll battle through it."

Yost checked on Infante before Tuesday night's game against the Rays.

"I just saw him in the training room; he's talking, he just ate something, so he's able to chew," Yost said. "It could've been a lot worse, so we really dodged a bullet there."

A quirk of fate might have helped Infante avoid a jaw fracture.

"The trainers said that, luckily, he opened his mouth at the last second," Yost said. "If he would have had his jaws closed, the odds of a fracture would have been much greater."