With Omaha going for their second straight Pacific Coast League championship, the Royals didn’t pull many players up to the big leagues. In fact, they’ve called up just two: catcher Manuel Pina and outfielder David Lough.

Pina saw action in four games last year after Matt Treanor‘s concussion put him on the disabled list, then he was optioned back to Omaha after Salvador Perez debuted and Brayan Pena came back from paternity leave. In his two weeks in the majors, he hit .214/.267/.357 with three base hits, two of them doubles. With a double header scheduled today, he fits the roster nicely in case of injury or to spell someone in the late innings.

The other name coming up is David Lough, who finally gets a look in the big leagues after spending three straight years in Omaha. He has a .291/.343/.446 line in Triple A in 1591 plate appearances in Triple A.

Ironically, 2012 is his lowest ever OPS (.737) but it’s the year he finally reaches the big leagues. He was hitting .275/.317/.420 with 19 doubles, 11 triples and 10 homers. He’s also stolen 26 bases in 30 attempts and can play all three outfield positions. He talked with us on the Kansas City Baseball Vault about how he wanted to use his speed more this season, and he’s definitely been doing that.

Lough’s been caught in a crowded outfield, with Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur in the way last year, then this season was left in the minors while the Royals looked at Jarrod Dyson as an option after Lorenzo Cain‘s injury early in the year. Lough is probably going to be someone who ends up getting playing time in another organization, but it’s great to see him get the call as a Royal, even if it’s just for this month.

Many of the challenges the Royals have faced this year can be attributed to the multitude of injuries that have plagued the team.  The Royals experienced more serious injuries in Spring Training than during all of 2011, and we are only now beginning to see a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel.

The 2012 injury story began with a backup catcher in a noncompetitive situation.  While Manuel Pina wasn’t expected to contribute much to the Royals in 2012 (little did they know they could have used him to open the season after Salvador Perez went down), but on February 22 he torn his meniscus and this injury was the beginning of a long line of devastating setbacks the team has suffered to its roster.

Joakim Soria spoiled Royals fans for several years. (Credit: Jesse Johnson-US PRESSWIRE)

On March 13, Salvador Perez twisted his knee resulting in an almost identical injury to Manuel Pina, causing the Royals to lose 2 of their top 3 catchers for the first half of the season.  This roster hole forced the team to pick up Humberto Quintero, Mr. “Catch and Throw,” in a trade with Houston.  “Q” as he was frequently called by teammates was heralded as a great defensive player, although I never personally witnessed any evidence of this, and at bat he performed as you would expect a veteran bench player to perform.  (Lousy.)  So the Royals endured the first half of the season with little to no production from behind the plate.  Fortunately, Salvador returned to the lineup in June, and all is right with the world again.  Well, at least in the catching world.

I was sitting in the stands in Surprise, Arizona on March 18 when Joakim Soria was on the mound and felt a “tug” in his elbow.  He hadn’t pitched well that day and there was an uneasiness in the stands among Royals fans that something was definitely wrong.  We later learned that tug was a warning bell that Soria was going to require Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career, and forced the Royals to use Jonathan “roller coaster” Broxton as their closer.  As many people have accurately said, for the most part Broxton is getting the job done, but few players have caused fans (including me) more angst than he has.  Soria definitely spoiled us.

But Joakim isn’t the only Royals pitcher to go under the knife.  Not that any of us would have been excited to see Blake Wood in Kansas City this year, but he is out for the season with a case of the Tommy John illness.  As is Felipe Paulino – just as he was beginning to prove that possibly all of his potential and “stuff” might translate into solid performances and wins.  It’s sad when your rotation is so weak that you miss Felipe Paulino.  But I miss him, I really really do.

The Royals anxiously await Danny Duffy's recovery from Tommy John surgery (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

It brings a tear to my eye as I remember Danny Duffy exiting the game after throwing only 13 pitches on Mother’s Day.  I think every educated baseball fan immediately knew this meant another key contributor was lost for this season, and possibly beyond.  If you’re wondering, yes, Tommy John strikes again.  Is it contagious?

Not that I’m thrilled to see Yuniesky Betancourt in the lineup, and I’m not enamored with Chris Getz either, but when the team is thin at a few positions like second base, you don’t want to see anyone on your roster sitting in the trainer’s room.  Escobar has experienced nagging ankle problems, and Getz has been working through a variety of ailments including bruised ribs and a lower leg lateral strain that have sent both of them up and down so many times that it’s been a guessing game about who will play second base each day.

The Royals started the year strong, winning 2 out of 3 from the heavily favored Angels.  Then on April 10, while winning the 3^rd of their first 5 games of the year, Lorenzo Cain bumped into the Centerfield wall while chasing down a fly ball and suffered what was initially called a “slight pull of the left groin.”  This slight pull turned into a torn hip flexor and an on-again, off-again stay on the disabled list that has kept him out of the Royals lineup ever since.

Salvador Perez blocks the plate, and all is right with the world again. (Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE)

The good news is the Royals appear to be healing up.  As mentioned earlier, Salvador Perez has already made an impact in the short time he’s been back on the team, and most Lorenzo Cain is on the verge of making his first appearance in KC this year.

Unfortunately, the team’s pitching woes won’t be corrected anytime soon, but if Danny Duffy, Felipe Paulino, Joakim Soria, and John Lamb (a Top 20 prospect who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011) needed to sit out a year, it’s much better that it happen this year rather than next.  (Although, I suppose we don’t know for certain when any of them will return.)  In 2013 we expect Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi to be in KC, Eric Hosmer’s sophomore slump to be in the rear view mirror, we’ll have Salvador and Lorenzo for the entire season, and the Royals front office will be laser focused on adding a prime arm or two to the rotation through trades or free agency.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the serious injury bug doesn’t visit the Royals again next year.

Is Joakim Soria's sore elbow a sign of the Royals luck running out? Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Last year, the Royals were fortunate to have a full and healthy team for virtually the entire season. A few pitchers hit the disabled list, but Bruce Chen was the most significant of the bunch. Matt Treanor was the only position player to miss time (if you ignore Jason Kendall who never came off the 60 day DL) and that even led to the eventual call up of Salvador Perez.

Often, such strings of luck snap back – rapidly – to the norm.

Teams always struggle to prevent injuries. Pitch counts are designed to limit the wear on a pitcher’s arm. Catchers routinely get more off days than other players. A small injury usually leads to a day off to play it safe.

Sometimes, though, there’s nothing you can do and the Royals are running into that problem now early in spring training.

First Paulo Orlando and Manuel Pina were hurt. Orlando’s organizational depth so the impact isn’t that great and while the injury (sports hernia) isn’t of the same severity of a torn ACL (not to downplay the injury – a sports hernia can NOT be comfortable for anyone), he should return sometime this season. Pina turned his knee while his cleats were stuck and tore his right meniscus. Surgery repaired the injury and he’ll miss all of spring, but again, the impact wasn’t great at the time because he was projected as the starting catcher in Omaha and it would take injuries at the big league level to have him in Kansas City.

Fast forward to Salvador Perez suffering the same injury (to the other knee) and the problem becomes larger. Perez, understood as the franchise catcher after signing a contract that could keep him in Kansas City until 2019, has a recovery time of 12-14 weeks. He’ll miss about half the season if all goes well. Pina could be of use before then, but now, the Royals have to find someone to fill in with Brayan Pena behind the plate.

Before Perez got hurt, the Royals got a scare from Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Both are fine, but there was enough reason to hold both out from playing the field for precautionary reasons.

After this weekend, the Royals ran into what could be two other rough injuries.

Blake Wood was pulled from a game against the Padres in the middle of a batter. He’s supposedly out 10-14 days while the injury is evaluated.

I know what you might be thinking. “It’s just Blake Wood.” True, he doesn’t have the flash that Kelvin Herrera or Greg Holland do, but in 2011, Wood was a perfectly acceptable reliever. A few blown leads here and there in 2010 seem to have stuck in the minds of some fans. With more experience in the big leagues than most of his bullpen mates and coming off of a 3.75 ERA in 2011 (and 8 K/9) over 69.2 innings, Wood was a decent bet to make the team again. Now, after the injury and a bullpen that’s notably crowded, he might not get that chance. The Royals have other options, but the depth is nice.

It’s especially nice after Sunday’s news that Joakim Soria is having soreness in his right elbow as well. After his rough 2011 season, the Royals were hoping for a bounceback year. According to comments to Bob Dutton after Sunday’s game, Soria felt good before the game but felt discomfort after a couple of pitches and left the game.

His comments don’t seem to indicate that he had any pain beforehand, but his performance this spring hasn’t been good to this point. There weren’t any reported injury problems last season while he struggled early on, and he rebounded and had a reasonable stat line. He’s given up ten hits in 3.1 innings, so something’s not right. Robert Ford pointed out that he’s unlike other closers since he doesn’t rely on the velocity other pitchers have and he may not be as fine with his command right now. Soria told Dutton that “I wasn’t finishing my pitches” so perhaps pain held him back.

At any rate, it’s not good.

The Royals will find out more in a few days, but the injury bug may be a theme this season. An unusually healthy year last year isn’t any guarantee that things will regress and they’ll see more injuries or less. As a younger team, they’re probably less likely to get hurt due to less wear and tear. Some may point to a change in training staff and an increased willingness to sit a player rather than having them play through it (which ruined Mike Aviles‘s 2009 season).

There are players with some injury history on this team. Jonathan Broxton was available for the Royals because of his injuries getting him pushed out of Los Angeles. If Soria’s out, he takes a more prominent role in the bullpen. Bruce Chen has suffered a number of injuries over the years and is the oldest player on the team. He’s not a sure bet to stay healthy all year. Alex Gordon‘s run into an injury here or there and Lorenzo Cain sprained his knee in 2009 and missed half his season in the minors and Hosmer and Moustakas have had some small things (Hosmer had a hand injury in 2009 that hasn’t been an issue since, Moose opened 2010 on the DL with a strained oblique).

So nobody’s safe. The Royals have built a system where they’ll leave some players in Omaha who could contribute at the big league level, so they’re equipped if the injury bug starts biting. The best case, of course, is that those moves don’t become necessary.

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Salvador Perez limps off the field during Tuesday's game against the Reds. Courtesy of Heather Moore.

Yesterday, Salvador Perez felt a tweak in his knee while warming up Jonathan Sanchez in the bullpen before the Royals spring matchup against the Reds. After catching one inning, Perez left the game in visible pain and limping.

The Royals sent him in for an MRI and then back to Kansas City for further testing to determine the extent of any damage and the news is not good. Perez has a tear in his left meniscus and surgery to repair it will have him out for a while. This follows news from nearly three weeks ago when Manuel Pina underwent surgery to repair a similar tear. Pina was expected to be out 6-8 weeks, but after missing all of spring training, he won’t likely start his season in the big leagues.

That leaves Brayan Pena as the only healthy catcher on the Royals 40 man roster, though Max Ramirez has been hitting the ball hard in every game he’s been in and could back up. Cody Clark has seen a lot of time as well in spring action. Ivan Rodriguez is still available and has been reported to want playing time, though, as long as there aren’t complications or further damage to Perez or Pina, he won’t get it for long. He’s well past his prime and had only a .604 OPS for Washington last year in 44 games, but he still threw out 13 of 25 would-be basestealers. Other options could become available once teams start placing players on waivers at the end of camp. Ramon Castro is another option available on the market.

Perez is weeks removed from signing a new contract that, after team options, would have him in Kansas City through 2019.

His missing time is a blow to an organization trying to establish its core of young players this year with an eye towards an extended period of contention. Perez is a big part of that core with defensive skills and a great arm that make him a force behind the plate and strength and bat control that could make him a solid contributor with the bat (especially for a catcher). He’s also a leader and has been noted as a favorite target of many pitchers in the Royals system since coming up through the system. Provided that there are no other issues when surgery is performed, a reasonable expectation for his return is 6-8 weeks, according to Will Carroll.

If anything, there were some rumors that Perez may have torn an ACL, but those turned out to be nothing. A ligament tear would have been a far more devastating injury. In other sports, players have come back within just a couple of weeks from meniscus injuries.

He’ll lose out on time building more rapport with the Royals pitching staff. Once recovered, he should be fine, but he’ll always have the specter of other complications or injuries to the knee lurking. He’s not a small player by any means and spending most of his days crouching won’t help a once-repaired knee. He’ll have to work hard to maintain his conditioning and strengthen the joint to get back to speed.

The highest ranked catching prospect in the Royals system is Cameron Gallagher, a 2011 second round pick out of high school. He’s still far away from the big leagues, so the Royals are limited in high-ceiling options behind Perez.

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Thursday, all three were in action again, hoping to climb a step closer to their league’s championship.

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When Brayan Pena was eligible to return from paternity leave, the Royals had a logjam at catcher.

Lost in the shuffle of the Kyle Davies arrest news breaking, Manuel Pina was optioned back to Omaha.

Pina spent 11 days in the big leagues, collecting three hits in 14 at bats and throwing out one of the two runners who tried to steal on him.  He’ll possibly be back up in September if Matt Treanor hasn’t been cleared to return to action after suffering a concussion.

When Treanor returns, it’s uncertain if Pena will keep his roster spot.  Perez should see the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, and having Pina around as insurance gives the Royals options.  Treanor provides veteran leadership, Pina is a superior defender than Pena, and Perez is looking like a catching savant already.

On July 27, Perez was promoted from Northwest Arkansas to Omaha.  Now, after 49 plate appearances, he’s stepping in after a series of events leave the Royals thin at catcher. He should make his big league debut tomorrow in Tampa.

Matt Treanor was concussed* and placed on the 7-day DL after a collision with Matt LaPorta.  Manny Pina was called up to fill his place.

This time, Brayan Pena‘s wife in Miami is having labor induced and he’ll be there to join her.**

*I like that word too.  **The Royals are using two new MLB roster exemptions – the 7-day DL and paternity leave list – on both of their opening day catchers. 

Perez, 21, was signed out of Venezuela at 16 years old and has steadily worked his way up the ladder.  In Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, he has a combined .769 OPS with 10 homers and 53 RBI.  He’s thrown out 46% of attempted base-stealers across both levels this year and has a career minor league rate of 42%.

If he even approaches either of those marks the rest of this year, he’ll be well on his way.  Perez was our #20 prospect going into 2011.

What it means for the Royals when Treanor is recovered and Pena is done attending to his wife, I don’t know. It’s speculated that Manny Pina will be optioned to Omaha and Treanor will be activated from the DL.  Pena has been told to “take as long as it takes”.  If Perez is coming up, one would think it’s to get a long look at him, but perhaps he’ll return to Omaha and Pina will shuffle back to Double A.

We’ll see.

To make room for Perez on the 40-man roster, Jesse Chavez was designated for assignment.

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Salvador Perez, the prospective catcher of the future, has made it to Triple A at the ripe age of 21 years old.  Perez, considered an elite defensive talent, threw out 43 of 90 potential base stealers in Northwest Arkansas in 2011.  He has a career 43% success rate in the minors in limited would-be thieves.

Kelvin Herrera, who was in the All-Star Futures game at the All-Star Break, has a 52/8 K/BB ratio in 50.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen.

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In one episode, the network is undergoing turmoil about content choices and differences between the owner and Isaac Jaffe, managing editor of the Continental Sports Channel.  The chaos brings on a sense of foreboding doom to Casey McCall, lead anchor:

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Wil Myers, consistently considered a top catching prospect, is moving to the outfield.

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2) What would be a reasonable return?

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One of the films they would show with regularity was Pollyanna starring Hayley Mills (later of The Parent Trap and Saved By The Bell fame). If you don’t know the story, it goes like this: Pollyanna moves to an embittered town after becoming orphaned. Her aunt is a spinster, and the town is full of general grumpiness and discontent. Until Pollyanna comes along. She refuses to see anything in a negative light, always looking for the bright side. Why, she even makes Rany look like a Grinch. One of her favorite techniques was to play “The Glad Game” – coming up with anything and everything that made her glad.

Well, the Royals are 11-17, they’ve only won one series all year. They just came out of a series at Tampa where they scored only 8 runs. Their pitchers have walked more than any other team. The bullpen has fallen apart multiple times.

I think we could use some Gladness in Kansas City.  Here’s what I’m glad about:
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