Kansas City Royals dreadful season is only getting worse

Shortly after losing to the Houston Astros on Friday night, the Kansas City Royals also learned that they have lost right fielder Jorge Sole.

In what has been a lost season for the Kansas City Royals, right fielder Jorge Soler has been one of the few bright points. Acquired in the infamous trade that sent the beloved Wade Davis to the Chicago Cubs, Soler has started to show the potential that made him a coveted prospect. He has been the Royals best hitter this season, posting a .268/.358/.473 batting line, worth a team leading 127 OPS+, and nine homers heading into Friday’s action.

However, that production is lost for the foreseeable future. After being removed from the game following his stumble out of the batter’s box in the sixth inning, it was learned that Soler fractured his left first metatarsal.

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While the Royals do not know how long Soler will be sidelined, it may well be for a significant chunk of time. As Dodd pointed out in a followup tweet, Jayson Werth suffered a similar injury last year, and missed nearly two months. Even though the Royals are not going anywhere, and have already started selling pieces off, this is a tremendous blow to the lineup.

There is one silver lining to this injury. Jorge Bonifacio, who was suspended for a failed PED test, is eligible to return to the Royals on June 27. Soler’s injury, in theory, opens a spot in the lineup for Kansas City to see if he can still be a part of the future. He showed some of his potential last season, producing a .255/.320/.432 batting line with 17 homers. However, Soler’s emergence had left Bonifacio without a definable role on the roster.

With Soler out of the lineup, the Royals are only going to get much worse. Players like Mike Moustakas will be on the block, with Kansas City looking to find the next wave of prospects to restart their system. Hopefully, Soler and Bonifacio can be a part of that next cycle, and lead the Royals back to the postseason.

Next: Royals on the trade block

Jorge Soler will be lost for some time. The Kansas City Royals already miserable offense is about to get much worse.