LATEST NEWS

July 28: RHP John Schreiber exits game with right knee patella tendon discomfort; RHP Hunter Harvey exits game with left lower back spasm
The Royals saw two relievers exit early with injuries in Sunday’s series finale against the Cubs at Kauffman Stadium. Schreiber tweaked his right knee when he made a play at first base to end the top of the sixth inning and limped slightly as he walked off the field. He had only thrown one pitch to get the out, but manager Matt Quatraro went to Harvey in the seventh as Schreiber went to the trainer’s room.

“When I touched the bag, there was just some right knee discomfort,” said Schreiber, who will get more imaging done on Monday. “I’ll get some recovery tonight and hopefully feel better tomorrow. Obviously the hope is for some recovery, and hopefully after tonight, there’s a little bit more strength. We’ll see.”

Harvey got two outs in the seventh inning but then walked two batters. Rain had started to fall that inning, and Harvey had slipped slightly during his warmups on the mound. The spasm lingered into the outing, and Quatraro and a trainer went to check on Harvey after he walked Ian Happ, with Harvey exiting shortly after.

Harvey has made three appearances with the Royals after they acquired him before the All-Star break from the Nationals. The Royals should know more on his status on Monday, too.

"He’s going to get treated like crazy tonight and tomorrow, and hopefully it does calm down,” Quatraro said. “We’ve all had back spasms, and sometimes they come and go like that for no reason. Other times, they linger. We certainly hope it goes away quickly.”

July 28: OF MJ Melendez activated off 10-day injured list; OF Drew Waters optioned to Triple-A Omaha
Melendez played three games on his rehab assignment in Double-A Northwest Arkansas to test whether he was full-go after a left ankle sprain, and he was able to join the Royals back in Kansas City on Sunday to hit sixth in the lineup and play left field. After suffering the ankle injury in Boston on July 14, a day before the All-Star break, Melendez was hoping his IL stint was short. He went 1-for-9 in Double-A with a home run and two RBIs.

"Just needed to play in general," Melendez said. "The at-bats were good, too, to see pitches. But more so it was about getting on that foot, being out there for all nine innings."

Waters is hitting .188 in two stints in the Majors this year but has an .857 OPS in Triple-A. He played in four games this past week with the Royals and logged two hits.

• All Royals transactions

10-DAY/15-DAY INJURED LIST

60-DAY INJURED LIST

RHP Dan Altavilla (right lat strain)
Expected return: August
Altavilla threw an elevated fastball to A's leadoff hitter Max Schuemann on June 19 and immediately grimaced in pain while grabbing his side. Altavilla exited a few moments later with a trainer, was placed on the 15-day IL on June 20 and was transferred to the 60-day IL on July 5 to make room on the 40-man roster for Walter Pennington.

After Altavilla was placed on the IL with a right oblique strain, manager Matt Quatraro described the injury as a lat strain. Altavilla has been recovering in Arizona and is throwing bullpens and live BPs there with the expectation that he'll be ready for a return in late August. (Last updated: July 26)

LHP Josh Taylor (left arm/biceps nerve injury)
Expected return: September
Taylor felt soreness when he was warming up for his Cactus League outing on March 17, and was shut down afterward with left biceps soreness. The lefty reliever was diagnosed with a musculocutaneous nerve injury and placed on the 60-day IL in April. Taylor was shut down for a while and did not begin throwing until July. But now he's throwing up to 75 feet in Arizona and on a normal progression to ramp up back into pitching shape. It will still be a good amount of time before Taylor is ready for a big league return after that long of a layoff, but the Royals hope to get him on the mound by the end of the season. (Last updated: July 26)

RHP Kyle Wright (right shoulder surgery)
Expected return: 2025
The Royals traded for Wright in November in exchange for Jackson Kowar knowing Wright was coming off shoulder surgery after the 2023 season. They made the move thinking ahead a year, foreseeing how Wright, who will be 29 in '25, could help after he led the Majors with 21 wins and posted a 3.19 ERA in '22.

Pitchers who have this procedure typically take a year to return, and Wright is rehabbing in Kansas City with the goal of having a normal, non-rehabbing offseason later this year. He is throwing bullpens now and remains on track to have that healthy offseason. (Last updated: July 26)

• More injury news