Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Rios left the team’s April 13 game against the Minnesota Twins after getting hit in the hand by a pitch from Twins reliever J.R. Graham. He was diagnosed with a fracture in his hand and could be out from three to six weeks. The Royals placed him on the disabled list on April 14.

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Rios Fractures Hand, Placed on DL

Tuesday, April 14

The Royals confirmed that Rios suffered a “non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand.” Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star reported that Rios would go on the disabled list after the diagnosis, and the team confirmed the move:

General manager Dayton Moore spoke about Rios’ status, saying “it’s too early” to say how long he will miss but that the timetable is likely between three and six weeks, according to McCullough.

On April 13, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reported Rios was forced to exit the game after suffering a hand contusion. The injury came with the Royals owning a 6-3 advantage in the top of the eighth inning.

At the time, according to McCullough, Rios said he would undergo an X-ray and that “I’m going to guess I’m going to be good.”

The 34-year-old entered Monday with 25 plate appearances to his name in 2015. He was hitting .360 with one home run and seven runs batted in.

Rios was one of the Royals’ bigger offseason deals. He and Kansas City agreed to a one-year, $11 million contract. It might be a tad unrealistic to expect the veteran to slug 20 homers again, but the Royals will need him to provide some power in the bottom half of the lineup.

Royals fans should be concerned with Rios going to the disabled list, as the defending American League champions will be without one of the more powerful bats in their lineup.

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