KC Royals Have Depth To Handle Injuries To Moustakas, Gordon

KC Royals fans watched bad news has turn into worse news Thursday afternoon. The May 22 collision between left fielder Alex Gordon and third baseman Mike Moustakas – a collision that at first looked relatively innocuous – has now resulted in a pair of DL assignments.

Gordon’s wrist, originally thought to be sprained, turned out to be a broken hand, putting him on the DL for up to four weeks. Thursday afternoon another bombshell dropped: Moustakas tore his ACL in the collision and will see significant time on the DL.

With back-to-back World Series appearances, of course including the championship in 2015, the Kansas City Royals have been fortunate to all but escape the injury bug. Sure, Gordon missed two months after pulling his groin last July, but that’s been the exception.

Last season, the regular KC Royals took the field virtually every night. Eric Hosmer played in 158 games and went on to win the Gold Glove at first base. Alcides Escobar placed in 148 games and won the Gold at short. Moustakas placed in 147 games, Kendrys Morales 158 games, and even Salvador Perez played in 142 games last year in yet another Gold Glove-bid at catcher.

Two years ago was more of the same. Escobar played in every game. Gordon missed just six games, and Perez and Moustakas went 150 and 140 games, respectively.

Now the Royals face a different challenge: succeed without key pieces over the long term

Sure, there are the occasional absences. Moustakas missed time last year with the passing of his mother. Lorenzo Cain played in 140 games last year and just 133 games in 2014. Omar Infante has missed a number of games over the past two years, and Hosmer played in just 131 games in 2014.

Despite those minor issues, the KC Royals stayed relatively healthy during their two pennant-winning seasons compared to most teams. Losing relief pitchers Luke Hochevar (2014) and Greg Holland (September of 2015) were the most significant injuries come crunch time in October. Now the Royals face a different challenge: succeed without key pieces over the long term.

Next: Royals Enjoy More Depth Than Past Seasons

Tough Choices

The loss of Moustakas and Gordon forces general manager Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost’s hand in making some hard decisions. Do they seek help on the trade market, or do they stay the course with the young players they’ve developed on the farm?

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The choice might hinge on whether the organization is committed to trying to establish this era of Kansas City Royals baseball as a dynasty, or if they want to maintain a pipeline of talent that can provide consistent success for years to come.

May has been an up-and-down month, and after some called for goodbyes for Omar Infante, even he has responded with a 7-for-24 performance over the last seven games. Unfortunately, he’s still batting just .248 for the season.

Kansas City Royals fans will be saddened with the loss of Moustakas and Gordon – it stinks when the every day players are not out there every day. But let’s hold off on any doomsday scenarios just yet. Whoever takes over for Gordon will likely be an offensive improvement for the time being, and if Cuthbert can warm back up, he’s a reliable substitute for Moustakas.

Next: Six Trade Targets After Injuries To Moustakas And Gordon

At some point, the whole 162-game season fallback argument will go away. But with only 46 games down and 116 more to go, and with the KC Royals trailing the division lead by just two games, we can still say there’s a lot of baseball to be played. For the time being, it does not matter who is playing, just that he’s playing well.