Pasquantino nears Royals return after another Omaha rehab game

Vinnie Pasquantino went 0-for-3 with two walks in Omaha’s 12-8 loss to Louisville, but the Royals are already treating his rehab assignment like the last stop before Baltimore. Manager Matt Quatraro said Pasquantino is likely to come off the injured list and play in Friday night’s series opener at Camden Yards, which puts the final decision point on roster timing more than on whether the bat and hand are ready.

That is the clearest answer to what Kansas City still needed to see. Pasquantino has already resumed seeing pitches, working through at-bats and testing the swing after the right hamate bone fracture that sent him to the 10-day injured list on June 14, one day after he was hurt against the Astros in Houston and had surgery. The original recovery window was four to six weeks, and his rehab line has tracked like a hitter who is getting his timing back rather than one still fighting the injury.

The first baseman’s Omaha work has been modest on the score sheet but encouraging in the context Kansas City cares about. In two rehab starts, he was 2-for-6 with an RBI, and later MLB.com reporting put him at 4-for-11 with three walks and two strikeouts across three rehab games. That is not the profile of a player being protected from live pitching. It is the profile of a regular at-bat ramping toward a return.

The Royals had reasons to be cautious after Pasquantino’s injury because his production was real. Before the hamate fracture, he had 57 hits, six home runs and 32 RBIs in 68 games, a .224 average that still marked middle-of-the-order value for a lineup that missed his left-handed thump. He had also been on an eight-game hitting streak and was slugging well in June before the hand broke.

Kansas City covered the vacancy by recalling outfielder John Rave from Triple-A Omaha, but that was always a temporary answer. Pasquantino debuted for the Royals on June 28, 2022, and his return restores a first baseman who has become part of the club’s offensive core. MLB.com’s player bio also notes his Team Italy connection for the 2023 World Baseball Classic and the 2026 edition, a reminder that his profile reaches beyond one series in Baltimore. The rehab assignment did its job, and the last question now looks less like health than the simple mechanics of when the Royals wanted to make the move.