Maikel

Garcia

Garcia, 26, will get a night off after picking up a pair of hits in Friday’s loss. Josh Rojas is in at third in Garcia’s absence.

Closing the season strong, Garcia paced the Royals in this win. He got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first inning and laced the game-winning double in the seventh. In the end, he never made an out and now has a .278/.366/.417 slash line in the second half.

Garcia offers some appeal in deeper mixed leagues based on his extensive track record of fantasy relevance. However, he’s endured a lost season due to injury with a muscle strain in his left hand and hamstring issues limiting him to just 73 games. He hasn’t come close to replicating last year’s career-high 16 round-trippers, mustering only three long balls in 309 plate appearances.

Garcia played most of the game at third base, and obviously, the stolen base is a good sign for the health of his hamstring. There is no indication yet of when Garcia might return to the Royals’ lineup, but it seems possible that it could be this week.

Garcia has played just four games since late June due to a series of hand and hamstring issues. There’s a chance he makes it back for the final two weeks of the season.

Garcia, who had just returned from the injured list on Monday, suffered a hamstring strain while running the bases in the first inning on Thursday night. It’s a brutal blow for the Royals and for fantasy managers who had been holding onto him with the hope that he’d be able to make a major impact down the stretch. Matthew Lugo was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move on Friday.

The dynamic third baseman suffered a left hamstring injury while rounding third base in the opening inning on Thursday, just days after returning from an extended stay on the injured list due to a muscle strain in his left hand. While nothing is official yet, it’s possible that he could wind up missing the remainder of the 2026 season.

He pulled up rounding third base and gingerly walked off the field with the trainer and manager Matt Quatraro, grabbing at his hamstring. Garcia has been no stranger to the injured list this year and it looks like this might lead to another placement there. The Royals should have an update on his status in the near future.

The Royals activated Garcia ahead of Monday’s game after he missed nearly two months with hand injury. The 26-year old third baseman didn’t miss a beat with two hits, a run scored and an RBI in his first game back. He’s hitting .264 with a .695 OPS and 31 RBI.

Garcia returns to Kansas City’s infield mix after missing nearly two months with a muscle strain in his left hand. It’s been a bit of a lost season in the wake of last year’s 16-homer, 23-steal breakout campaign as he’s hit just 261/.320/.373 with three homers, 30 RBI and five steals in 294 plate appearances so far. He’s an impact fantasy contributor when he’s healthy, which gives Garcia a shot at fantasy relevance over the final six weeks of the year.