KC Royals Roster News: Mark Canha lands on IL, Drew Waters recalled from Omaha

The Kansas City Royals had already been dealing with their fair share of injuries to start the 2025 MLB season with pitchers James McArthur, Kyle Wright and Alec Marsh all on the IL to start the season, while outfielder Dairon Blanco was placed on the injured list in the first few games.

Now, ahead of Wednesday evening's game with the Minnesota Twins, the injury bug struck again as the Royals were forced to make yet another transaction.

KC Royals Roster News: Mark Canha lands on IL

Veteran 1B/OF Mark Canha was placed on the 10-day IL with a left abductor strain, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

The IL placement comes after Canha left Tuesday night's contest against the Twins with left hip soreness, as per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The injury came after the veteran outfielder crashed hard into the wall in attempt to rein in a Harrison Bader flyball in the fifth inning.

Since joining the Royals just ahead of the regular season, Canha was slashing .357/.471/.500 in 17 plate appearances across seven games, appearing at first base, left field and DH.

The news comes at particularly bad time for the Royals with the outfield already running thinner than usual with Blanco on the shelf and the outfield already facing their fair share of struggles to start the season.

KC Royals Roster News: Drew Waters recalled from Omaha

In a corresponding move, the Royals called up outfielder Drew Waters from Triple-A to replace Canha on the active roster.

Waters last appeared in the big leagues with the Royals on July 24 last year and made just 19 plate appearances in total in 2024.

Waters has been hard to miss in 2025 though, as he's been turning heads in Omaha to start the MiLB season, slashing .370/.469/.741 with two homers and seven RBI in 32 plate appearances across seven contests.