KANSAS CITY — Royals manager Mike Matheny noted Tuesday that when he was watching shortstop Adalberto Mondesi do his pregame work on Monday afternoon, it was the first day since a left hamstring strain sidelined Mondesi for two weeks that he “looked like Mondi” again.
The recovery from that pregame work went well enough that the club reinstated Mondesi from the 10-day injured list ahead of Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. Mondesi wasn’t in the lineup, but he was in the on-deck circle ready to pinch-hit with two outs and none on in the ninth before Michael A. Taylor struck out to end the game.
“Yesterday was the first day I saw him really move where it looked like Mondi,” Matheny said before the roster move. “That’s exciting news for us. Quick first steps watching him run where he didn’t look like it was favoring at all.”
In a corresponding move, the Royals placed reliever Ronald Bolaños on the 10-day injured list with a right flexor strain. The right-hander had come up big for the team’s bullpen in the past week covering innings after short starts, and Kansas City could have seen him move up in leverage situations eventually.
Mondesi had been on the IL since June 4 after he sustained the injury during a defensive play on May 31 against the Pirates. The 25-year-old has only played seven games this season following an oblique injury that lasted from the day before Opening Day to May 25. In those seven games, he hit .360 (9-for-25) with three doubles and two home runs.
Since the hamstring injury, Mondesi had been taking batting practice and participating in infield drills every day with the Royals, but he couldn’t return until he felt 100 percent running.
Now that box is checked.
