Royals catcher Carter Jensen he has been moved to the forward position on Saturday as the club look for dangerous performances. The junior backstop came up with one RBI and a two-run homer. Kansas City scored six runs in the contest after hitting five in four games this week.
“I like the idea of hitting the top,” Jensen said before the game, relayed by Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star.I think I can handle the role very well. I think it’s putting my way into my schedule and going out there and competing.”
Jensen scored the fifth most of the season. Of his 167 at-bats, 125 have come in the 5th. He started just once this year heading into Saturday. Jensen went 1-for-5 with one RBI in that game, a 12-1 Royals victory. He was on a two-game hitting streak in 2025, posting three hits (all doubles) in 11 ABs. Some of those games were won by 20-1.
Jensen, 22, could not recapture the form he showed in his MLB debut last year. He was hitting .222/.306/.383 heading into Saturday. Umzimbi is still walking at a double-digit clip, but his strikeout rate has increased to 29.0%. Jensen got only 17.4% in 2025. He posted a whopping 159 wRC+ in 20 games.
Kansas City scored the fewest second runs in the league. The team ranks in the bottom five in OPS and wRC+. The best place in itself was not a big problem, as Michael Garcia posted it next to the league numbers. Garcia was moved to the No. 3 in the last two games, including tonight. Lane Thomas it started on friday.
The Royals have dropped 15 of their last 18 games. The slide has the club sitting 11 games behind the Rangers in first place in the AL Central. Despite the challenges, coaching changes are not on the horizon, according to general manager JJ Picollo. “I have a lot of confidence in our staff,” Picollo told reporters, including Anne Rogers of MLB.com.You can go back and look at all the historical research by changing the training sticks. There isn’t a lot of hard data on changing training sticks mid-season that leads to what you need to do.”
Here’s more from the Royals…
- Left hand Cole Ragans has resumed his rehab assignment, according to his MLB player page. The ace was sidelined earlier this week after feeling tightness in his elbow. Ragans has been on the injured list with a sprained left elbow since early May. It’s unclear when exactly he will make his next Triple-A appearance. The Ragans last played on May 23.
- Kansas City added a veteran reliever Dan Altavilla by minor league agreement, the club announced. The right-hander was released by Triple-A Minnesota on Monday. Altavilla, 33, has spent eight MLB seasons with four teams. That includes a brief stint with the Royals in 2024, where he allowed six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. Altavilla posted a solid 2.48 ERA in 28 appearances with the White Sox last year.
- The right hand Luinder Avila joins the rotation, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters, including Rogers. His next start will likely come Monday against the Reds. Avila made his first major league appearance this year, but has also worked out of the bullpen. The righty pitched three innings in the back-to-back outings. He hit 67 pitches Tuesday against the Yankees.
- The liberator Nick Mears placed in IL on Friday, the team announced. A right-handed person will lose time by putting the right shoulder. The right hand Eric Cerantola he was called to take his place. Mears came to the Royals in the offseason, along with an outfielder Isaac Collinsin the trade that sent the lefty Angel Zerpa for the Brewers. The righty allowed runs in just two of his first 16 games with the team. Since then he has allowed eight earned runs in his last five contests.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Dieb, Imagn Images
