The Kansas City Royals iron man, Jason Kendall, is out for the year.
Manager Ned Yost announced the Royals starting catcher would undergo shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff. The injury is expected to take 8-10 month recovery and they hope to have him back in the spring.
A MRI this week revealed the extensive tearing in his rotator cuff, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
Yost said Kendall suffered the injury July 17 against Oakland on a slide while stealing second base. Kendall responded, initially, to a cortisone shot before aggravating the injury in early August on a check swing in Oakland.
"He got to the point where he couldn’t even raise his arm," Yost said. "He got to the point where he had to take his glove and push his arm back into a throwing position — and he was still throwing runners out.
On Aug. 11, Yost said backup Brayan Pena would be seeing about 15 starts along the last 49 games, perhaps an indication at the time that Kendall's shoulder was bothering him.
The Royals decided now was the best time to do it so that he's ready by spring training. Only question I'd have is why it wasn't done at the beginning of August when they found out that he re-aggravated it? What's the point of leaving him out there the rest of the way?
The Royals also called up catcher Lucas May as part of the September roster expansion.
"We get to see Brayan Peña," Yost said. "And we get to see Lucas May and evaluate his talents and abilities behind the plate. He’s a converted (infielder), so he’s not going to be extremely polished. But he’s a guy who has a chance to be a pretty decent receiver."
Kendall has played 118 games this season.
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