KC Royals place Vinnie Pasquantino on injured list and lose Amir Garrett to suspension

The Kansas City Royals roster took a couple hits prior to the opening game of their two-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Both rookie first baseman/designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino and left-handed reliever Amir Garrett will be unavailable, albeit for different reasons, against the Diamondbacks.

The Royals placed Pasquantino on the injured list with what they’ve termed right shoulder discomfort after he came out of Monday afternoon’s game with the Chicago White Sox with shoulder pain.

Pasquantino, named AL Player of the Week going into last week, has batted .263 with a .350 on-base percentage and a .434 slugging percentage with eight home runs and 15 RBIs in 49 games.

He had an awkward reaction to a swing when he fouled off a pitch during a game in Minnesota last week, but the Royals considered just a temporary “stinger” at the time. He played throughout the road trip without any noticeable issues until Monday.

Meanwhile, Garrett had his three-game suspension from MLB reduced upon appeal to two games. He began serving that suspension Tuesday night. The Royals pitching staff will be short-handed, though left-handed starter Kris Bubic was expected to be available if needed out of the bullpen for Tuesday night.

Garrett’s suspension was for throwing his drink at a fan who heckled him from the stands in Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field on Aug. 2.

Garrett has a 3-1 record with a 4.08 ERA, a .137 opponent’s batting average 36 strikeouts and 26 walks in 35 1/3 innings (44 games) this season.

Garrett hasn’t allowed an earned run since before the MLB All-Star break, a stretch of 13 consecutive innings that has included 10 strikeouts and a .077 opponent’s batting average.

Garrett has stranded 27 of 30 inherited runners this season, and he has the highest rate (90%) of stranded runners among pitchers who’ve inherited at least 30 runners.

The Royals also optioned relief pitcher Collin Snider to Triple-A Omaha to make room on the active roster for Tuesday’s starting pitcher, Jonathan Heasley, who was recalled from the minors prior to the game.

The Royals also recalled catcher Sebastian Rivero to fill the roster spot opened by Pasquantino going on the IL.