Jason Kendall’s initial recovery timetable following September shoulder surgery had him missing the first two months of the season, but then in February the Royals revealed that he was several months ahead of schedule and might not miss any time at all.
Several setbacks followed, causing Kendall to begin the season on the disabled list, and now general manager Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that his current return timetable is “sometime in the first half.”
Dutton writes that Kendall’s “recovery from shoulder surgery is no longer on the fast track” and “his anticipated return has been downgraded.” Kendall described his status as “probably about 85 percent” healthy, which isn’t particularly encouraging when 100 percent of Kendall is one of the worst regulars in baseball.
Through six games Matt Treanor and Brayan Pena have alternated starts behind the plate in Kendall’s absence and they already have more homers (1) than Kendall hit (0) in 490 plate appearances last year.
