1:00pm: The Royals introduced to reporters, together with Alec Lewis of The Athletic, that Zerpa has a small tear within the patellar tendon of his proper knee.
11:42am: The Royals introduced Wednesday that they’ve chosen the contract of second baseman Michael Massey and recalled catcher Sebastian Rivero from Triple-A Omaha. Massey will take Whit Merrifield’s spot on the lively roster, whereas Rivero is up rather than backup Cam Gallagher. Each Merrifield and Gallagher had been traded previous to yesterday’s deadline. Lefty Angel Zerpa was moved to the 60-day injured record to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Massey.
Massey, the Royals’ fourth-round decide in 2019, is in having fun with an impressive season within the minors, posting a mixed .312/.371/.532 with 16 house runs, 28 doubles and 13 steals by 391 plate appearances. That features a huge .325/.392/.595 batting line (158 wRC+) in 143 journeys to the plate on the Triple-A degree. Baseball America tabbed him eighth amongst Kansas Metropolis prospects on their midseason rating of the system, giving him above-average grades for his hit device, energy and glove at second base.
With Merrifield traded, there’s a transparent opening for the 24-year-old Massey to hitch Bobby Witt Jr. as a staple within the Kansas Metropolis infield. He’s definitely not as ballyhooed a prospect as Witt was previous to his debut, however Massey was chosen with the 109th total draft decide not way back and has achieved nothing however hit since making his skilled debut. For a 41-63 Royals membership that’s clearly taking part in for the longer term for the rest of the present season, Massey is simply the kind of promising teenager who should command on a regular basis at-bats in hopes of seizing a spot on subsequent yr’s roster.
As for the 23-year-old Rivero, he’ll give Kansas Metropolis a 3rd catching possibility behind Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez. With that duo on the roster for the foreseeable future, it’ll be robust for Rivero to carve out a lot of a task, however he has a minor league possibility remaining past the present season. Rivero hasn’t hit in a tiny pattern of 58 large league plate appearances, however he has a .266/.322/.380 line in 171 Triple-A plate appearances that’s no less than satisfactory for a catcher, notably a company’s No. 3 catcher on the 40-man roster.
Zerpa, 22, is likely one of the group’s extra promising pitching prospects, however a transfer to the 60-day injured record may very nicely imply the tip of his season. The Royals positioned him on the 15-day injured record on account of a proper knee damage final week however have but to offer extra particulars surrounding right this moment’s shift to the 60-day IL.
