Fastball

Maikel Garcia of Kansas City Royals Undergoes Elbow Surgery, Should Be Ready For Opening Day

Garcia had bone spurs removed from his elbow and won't be playing in winter ball.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia (11) at bat against the New York Yankees during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 10.
Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia (11) at bat against the New York Yankees during game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 10. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images
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Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia underwent elbow surgery on Thursday, getting bone spurs removed from his right elbow.

Per Daniel Alvarez-Montes on social media:

#Royals 3B Maikel García underwent surgery to remove bone spur from his right elbow.

García posted this photo minutes ago on Instagram.

Alvarez-Montes also said that Garcia should be ready for Opening Day and that this injury doesn't take much time for position players to recover from. However, there has been no announcement from the team yet regarding the procedure.

He had been set to play winter ball but will not be playing now. A native of Venezuela, Garcia hit .231 this past season with seven home runs and 58 RBI. He also stole 37 bases while often hitting at the top of the Royals order.

Kansas City finished second in the American League Central and advanced to the American League Division Series, where they were eliminated by the New York Yankees in four games. The Royals had beaten the Baltimore Orioles in the wild card round. It was their first trip to the playoffs since the 2015 season. That is also the last season that they won the World Series.

With Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino in the middle of the order, the Royals should be competitive again in 2025. The team also recently acquired second baseman Jonathan India in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, and he could assume the spot at the top of the lineup, perhaps forcing Garcia down.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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