Royals Do Not Expect Help From Injured List Anytime Soon

Royals fans should not expect any help for the beleaguered starting rotation from the injured list. Both Kris Medlen and Mike Minor have suffered rehab setbacks, and Jason Vargas is unlikely to help until September.

Coming into the 2016 season, Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore stockpiled what appeared to be a lot of starting rotation depth. He might have lacked the quality he wanted, but he seemed to compensated by at least having multiple options in case his rotation struggled in 2016. The hope was that he’d catch enough players enjoying better-than-expected seasons to field a viable rotation.

His plan simply hasn’t worked.

Yes, Danny Duffy has taken a big step forward in his career to become what appears to be a top-of-the-rotation starter. But his ascension has been off-set by Edinson Volquez‘s unexpected struggles (8-8, 4.85 ERA), Yordano Ventura‘s failure to step up as a headline pitcher (6-7, 5.15 ERA) and the collapse of Kris Medlen (7.77 ERA) and Chris Young (6.79 ERA) who opened the season at the no. 4 and no. 5 pitchers in the rotation.

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Aside from the five players that opened the season in the rotation, Moore could hope that top prospect Kyle Zimmer could finally sustain his health enough to help the big club in the second half. Instead, Zimmer is struggling with yet another injury and has only appeared in three games as a reliever at AAA Omaha.

Moore also signed former dominant Atlanta starter Mike Minor who was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Minor missed all of 2015 and the KC Royals expected him to return to action by mid-season, and to be fully recovered by 2017. Instead, Minor has suffered a rehab setback. The front office now hopes he can contribute by August or September.

Meanwhile, Jason Vargas is on track in his rehab. But, he underwent Tommy John surgery on August 5, 2015. With a typical one-year recovery time before pitching against live competition, Vargas will be lucky to help out in Kansas City by September after completing a minor-league rehab assignment.

Another starting option was Dillon Gee, except he’s shown he’s more effective as a long-reliever. He’s only been marginally effective as a starting pitcher for the KC Royals. Moore also added Kris Medlen before the 2015 season, with the hopes that he would be fully recovered from Tommy John surgery by 2016. Since Medlen had been a no. 1 starter for Atlanta before his second UCL tear, there was some belief Medlen could provide upside for the  rotation.

Instead, Medlen strained his shoulder in May and suffered a setback in his rehab assignment at Omaha on July 6. He’s now looking at resting for at least two weeks, and is yet another pitcher that appears he will only help the Kansas City Royals in August or September.

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If the KC Royals are going to get significant help for the rotation in the season’s second half, it will likely have to come from the trade market.