Jac Caglianone returned to the Royals’ starting lineup as the designated hitter on Saturday after missing Friday night’s game against the Pirates at PNC Park. Manager Matt Quatraro benched the 23-year-old for disciplinary reasons stemming from an incident in Houston during Thursday’s loss to the Astros. Caglianone cut his left hand after punching a dugout wall following a strikeout.
Jac Caglianone Returns to Royals Lineup Following Apology for Hand Injury
Jac Caglianone Apologizes for Left Hand Injury
Addressing the media prior to Saturday’s contest, a contrite Caglianone expressed deep regret for his actions. He described the incident as a very selfish and immature move, noting that his teammates and he himself hold him to a higher standard, and he views the situation as a learning experience to grow from. He admitted that frustration simply boiled over in Houston, acknowledging that he cut his hand and put the team in a bad spot, though fortunately the injury was nothing too serious. In his return on Saturday, Caglianone went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, including an RBI single during a 6-5 loss.
Performance and Team Context
The return to the field comes during a notable first full season in the Majors for Caglianone. Prior to the recent slump, he was coming off a red-hot August in which he earned American League Player of the Month honors. However, September has brought a downturn, with the player going 4-for-27 with 11 strikeouts across 10 games without a home run, alongside an earlier stretch of going hitless in ten at-bats and struggling over a seven-game stretch where he went 0-for-10 with one hit in 15 at-bats and eight strikeouts.
Carter Jensen and Royals Statistics
Overall, Caglianone maintains a strong statistical profile across 137 games, slashing .279/.332/.485 with 23 home runs and 71 RBIs, alongside a 123 wRC+ that ranks 17th-best among qualified hitters in the American League. He ranks second on the team in both homers and RBIs behind rookie catcher Carter Jensen, who hit a franchise rookie-record-breaking 25th home run on Saturday for his 76th RBI. Caglianone is also not the only young Royals hitter to issue an apology this season, as Jensen previously apologized earlier in the year for missing pregame after sleeping through an alarm.
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