Nick

Loftin

It sounds like a precautionary decision, but there should be a definitive update on his status at some point later this weekend. It’ll be Nick Loftin taking over at the hot corner on Sunday afternoon in his absence.

Loftin, called up a week ago from Triple-A, got the start in left field on Saturday for the Royals and had one of the team’s only two hits against Tarik Skubal through seven scoreless innings. With Skubal out of the game in the eighth, Loftin doubled and scored the only run of the game on a base hit by Vinnie Pasquantino. The 26-year-old is 4-for-12 with two runs scored and a steal in his limited playing time.

India becomes the latest player under the weather as an illness makes its way through Kansas City’s clubhouse. It’ll be Nick Loftin taking over in left field on Sunday afternoon.

Loftin has been excellent in Triple-A with a slash of .295/.451/.468. The former first-round pick will head to Kansas City as a utility player, but could see a decent amount of playing time for the playoff-contending Royals. Hunter Renfroe was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Even though Loftin has been great since day one this season, the Royals didn’t give him a single at-bat during his three-day callup last week. He’s batting .297/.443/.485 with eight steals in eight attempts for Omaha. Royals second basemen are at .203/.234/.266 for the year.

Loftin was called up with Tyler Tolbert landing on the bereavement list, but with Tolbert back, Loftin will return to Triple-A.

Loftin heads to the big leagues prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Astros with Tyler Tolbert landing on the bereavement list. The 26-year-old has gotten off to an excellent start at the Triple-A level and might be able to stick around past the next few days.

Loftin should have made the Royals as a bench guy over Cavan Biggio, and it’s really hard to understand why he’s not up now, given that he’s batting .328/.511/.493 with six steals in six attempts through 20 games for Omaha. The Royals should give him a look at third base and move Maikel Garcia to second.

The 26-year-old had a solid spring, going 13-for-34 (.382) with five RBI in 44 plate appearances. Loftin was good for the Royals at Triple-A last season, but he doesn’t have the power or speed to move the needle much for fantasy managers. He also doesn’t provide as much defensive versatility as Cavan Biggio, who made the team.

Loftin has greatly improved his chances of claiming a spot on the Royals bench by hitting .444/.589/.600 in 34 plate appearances. The biggest danger he might face would probably be an outside addition; the Royals recently tried to add Adam Duvall and could keep looking for another bat.