Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee, team president Dayton Moore announced on Thursday. Mondesi appeared to suffer the injury during Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox when he had a series of awkward plays, including a long stride on a pickoff attempt. The Royals placed Mondesi on the injured list as part of a series of transactions ahead of Thursday's game against the White Sox, and he'll presumably miss the remainder of the 2022 season.
Mondesi, 26 years old, had started the season on a poor note offensively. In 15 games he had batted .140/.204/.140 (4 OPS+) with no home runs and five stolen bases (on five tries). Unfortunately, injuries have become commonplace for him. He's appeared in only 50 games since playing in 59 of the Royals' 60 contests during the 2020 pandemic season. Mondesi has appeared in 100 or more games in a season just once.
If Mondesi misses the remainder of the season, he'll enter the winter in an awkward position. He was a legitimate non-tender candidate last offseason, and he appeared to be on pace to be in the same boat this November. To make matters more complicated, Mondesi will have just one year of team control remaining. The Royals tend to do right by players, so it's possible they'll keep him around as a good-faith gesture.
The severity of Mondesi's injury will cause manager Mike Matheny to continue shuffling his lineup. In both Wednesday and Thursday's games, he's chosen to start Nicky Lopez at shortstop and Whit Merrifield at second. It's unclear if Matheny intends to give rookie Bobby Witt Jr. any burn at shortstop. To this point, Witt -- the No. 2 prospect in baseball entering the season -- has only appeared at third base in the majors.
In addition to placing Mondesi on the IL, the Royals optioned right-hander Brady Singer to Triple-A and recalled outfielder Kyle Isbel and infielder Emmanuel Rivera.
