Royals place Herrera on paternity leave

Club recalls Orlando from Triple-A for third time this season

July 13th, 2018

CHICAGO -- The Royals placed outfielder on paternity leave and recalled outfielder from Triple-A Omaha prior to Friday night's series opener with the White Sox.
Herrera's wife is due to give birth to the couple's first child, manager Ned Yost said, and Herrera is with her at a New Jersey hospital. Herrera could return in time for Sunday's finale, missing just the first two games of this set at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Since being claimed off waivers from the Reds in June, Herrera is hitting .267/.291/.373 in 80 plate appearances.

Orlando is in the midst of a disappointing season. He's up in the Majors for the third time this year after two stints in Omaha, but he found success in his most recent trip. In 13 games since being sent down on June 23, Orlando hit .333 with a .479 slugging percentage with the Storm Chasers.
"Bit of a struggle here," Yost said of Orlando. "Two years ago it was no fluke, he hit .305, in 500-something at-bats. That's not a fluke. But he struggled last year offensively, and up here has struggled, but has done really, really well in Triple-A. Hitting over .300.
"He's a guy that can hit the ball to all fields, he's a tremendous defender in center field, and he was just part of our club when we were really, really good in '15. He came in and did a great job with defending and clutch hitting. So it's good to get him back, I'm glad about it."
Kennedy's injury not serious
Right-hander was placed on the disabled list on Wednesday with a left oblique strain, returning to the DL the same day he made his first start since being activated. But Yost said Kennedy may return to baseball activities relatively soon.

"They're thinking five to seven days and then back to baseball activity," Yost said. "Just have to wait and see. It's pretty localized, which is a good thing. We have to wait and see how it goes, but right now, we're not looking at three weeks or a month, or anything like that."