Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino: Included on wild-card roster

The Royals activated Pasquantino (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Pasquantino was supposed to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks when he required surgery to repair a fractured right thumb in early September, but he's beat that timetable by a wide margin and will be part of the Royals' wild-card series roster. The expectation is that Pasquantino will be used at designated hitter, at least initially, which would free up at-bats at first base for Yuli Gurriel and/or Salvador Perez.