The Kansas City Royals (7-16) lost 7-5 in 12 innings to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday to extend their losing streak to eight games, but that's not their only issue. They also placed infielder Jonathan India on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday with a left shoulder sublaxation, per MLB.com.
This is the same shoulder injury that has previously plagued India, per MLB.com's Anne Rogers.
"[He] received [an] injection and is seeing another doctor this week to determine next steps," she added.
The Royals acquired India and Joey Wiemer from the Cincinnati Reds for starting pitcher Brady Singer in November 2024. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder struggled in his first season with Kansas City, as he slashed .233/.323/.346 with nine homers and 46 RBIs over 136 games.
Some injury updates:--India is dealing with same shoulder injury as he has in the past, received injection and is seeing another doctor this week to determine next steps--Falter & Kolek both pitched well in Triple-A this weekend, slated for next outings this week there
India is typically better than that, as he has a career slash line of .247/.346/.396. The Reds drafted the Florida native No. 5 overall in 2018, and he notched an .835 OPS as a rookie in 2021 before notching a .700-plus OPS in each of the next three seasons.
However, India continued to struggle before getting hurt this season, as he's slashing .167/.310/.313 with two homers and eight RBIs over 17 games. Kansas City needs the 29-year-old to be healthy and play as he did for Cincinnati, as the squad is struggling.
Kansas City already has 11 games in April with three runs or fewer, and it scored just two runs over the first 11 innings on Monday before tallying three runs in the 12th. However, that wasn't enough to defeat the Orioles, who scored five in the top half of the inning.
Several key players are underperforming for the Royals. For example, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino is hitting just .149, designated hitter/catcher Salvador Perez is hitting .176, and left fielder Isaac Collins is hitting .196. Pasquantino slashed .264/.323/.475 last season, while Perez slashed .236/.284/.446 and Collins slashed .263/.368/.411.
On the bright side, right fielder Jac Caglianone hit his first homer of the season on Monday. Kansas City has to hope that the 23-year-old gets hot, as he was its top prospect in 2025 but slashed just .157/.237/.295 over 62 games.
While the Royals can't depend on India to save their offense, it would help if he finds his old form when he comes back. The squad is talented, but it's not playing up to its talent level.
Up next for Kansas City is a rematch with Baltimore on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. ET. Southpaw pitcher Kris Bubic will start for the Royals against right-hander Shane Baz.