The Kansas City Royals received some very bad news on Thursday.
Their own president of baseball operations, Dayton Moore, confirmed the worst outcome regarding one of the team’s top players, Adalberto Mondesi, who injured his knee on Tuesday.
He suffered a left ACL tear and will miss the remainder of the season.
It’s yet another brutal injury to one of the game’s premier speedsters.
A healthy Mondesi could steal more than 50 bases over a full season, more than just about any other player in MLB.
The problem is that he hasn’t been able to consistently stay on the field.
An Injury-Prone Player
Here is a record of his games played by year.
“15 games…. Mondesi games by year: 47 (2016), 25 (2017), 75 (2018), 102 (2019), 59 (2020) shortened season, 35 (2021), 15 (2022),” Kansas City Today, a Twitter account covering the city’s professional sports and leagues, tweeted on Thursday.
15 games….
Mondesi games by year:
47 (2016)
25 (2017)
75 (2018)
102 (2019)
59 (2020) shortened season
35 (2021)
15 (2022) https://t.co/lgrFUJt0bB— Kansas City Today (@KC__Today) April 28, 2022
The only season in which he made it in one piece was 2020, when he played in 59 of the team’s 60 games.
In the rest of his MLB tenure, he has had to deal with injuries.
It’s the same injury that Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered last July, and he ended up missing around nine months.
ACL tears typically require between six and nine months to heal, depending on the individual.
It’s safe to say that Mondesi won’t return in 2022, but he should be a full go next year.
He had been deployed as the Royals’ shortstop despite the presence of other solid options, such as Nicky Lopez and Bobby Witt Jr.
One of those two will likely slide over and replace Mondesi, a very good defender, at the infield’s most important position.
It’s a tough break for one of the most talented, yet perennially frustrating players in the league.
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