Kansas City Royals’ Adalberto Mondesi injures other oblique and is back on the IL

Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi returned to the injured list Monday because of a muscle strain after he left Sunday’s game following the sixth inning.

Mondesi hurt his left oblique, Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. Mondesi opened the season on the injured list and missed 45 games because of a right oblique injury. He’s also missed time this year because of a hamstring strain.

“He’s just devastated, and we just feel so bad for him,” Moore said. “We’re obviously a much different team when he’s on the field.”

Ryan O’Hearn was called up from Triple-A Omaha to take Mondesi’s place on the roster.

Mondesi has battled injuries throughout his career. He played in 59 of 60 games last year after his 2019 season ended with shoulder surgery. Mondesi hasn’t played more than 102 games in the majors in any season.

When asked if Mondesi’s injury history was a result of not being in good enough shape, Moore said that Mondesi is in “great shape” and expressed confidence in Mondesi.

“It’s just one of those deals,” Moore said. “He’ll get through it eventually. It’s just he has had a lot of setbacks.”

Mondesi went 2 for 4 with two doubles and two runs scored in Sunday’s game, a 7-3 Royals win over the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals start a 10-game road trip Tuesday against the Yankees in New York.

“He felt a little something,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said after the game.

In 10 games this season, Mondesi has slashed .361/.378/.833 with four home runs, nine RBIs, five doubles and six runs scored. He recently returned from the injured list June 15 following a left hamstring strain.

On Friday, Mondesi hit the fourth-longest home run by a Royals player since Statcast data began tracking home run distance in 2015. His 464-foot blast marked his third consecutive game with a home run.

When Mondesi has been out, the Royals have used second baseman Nicky Lopez as well as Hanser Alberto to fill in at shortstop.

The Royals also signed the former starting shortstop for their 2015 World Series-winning club, Alcides Escobar, to a minor-league contract in early May. Escobar, 34, has played in 27 games for Triple-A Omaha.

He is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning they’d potentially have to expose a player to waivers in order to add Escobar.

Moore said Mondesi’s latest injury will not force the club to speed up the development plan for top prospect Bobby Witt Jr.

Witt is currently batting .280 with a .352 OBP and a .561 slugging percentage with 11 home runs, 17 walks and 45 strikeouts at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He’ll still likely get time at Triple-A Omaha before any promotion to the major leagues.

Since the start of June, Witt has slashed .343/.405/.672 and he has seven walks and 14 strikeouts.

“J.J. Picollo will ultimately make that decision,” Moore said, referring to the Royals assistant general manager who oversees player development. “Of course we’ll talk about it, but I trust J.J. with that. He’ll make that recommendation and we’ll talk about it, but Bobby is doing tremendous. You look at what he has done the last two weeks, he’s figured some things out on a more consistent basis.”