MJ Melendez placed on the Injured List

The outfielder injured his ankle in Sunday’s first-half finale.

The Royals announced they have placed outfielder MJ Melendez on the 10-day Injured List, retroactive to Sunday’s game. He departed that game with a left ankle sprain while beating out an attempted groundball double play that led to a run. The Royals have not yet made a corresponding roster move, and likely won’t until they resume play on Friday against the White Sox.

Melendez has struggled mightily this season, batting just .192/.257/.385 with 11 home runs in 85 games, the seventh-lowest batting average in baseball for anyone with at least 250 plate appearances. He has been hitting well in the last five weeks, batting .245/.311/.500 with six home runs in his last 31 games. Overall he has cut his strikeout rate, but his walk rate has declined as well. He still rates well in average exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate, and has an expected batting average of .245.

The Royals have struggled to get much offense from their outfield - collectively they are hitting .216/.276/.361 and their 76 wRC+ is the worst in baseball. Drew Waters, who was just named International League Player of the Week, would be the most likely candidate to replace Melendez, who would be eligible to return for the June 26 game against the Cubs.