Pasquantino ahead of schedule, Royals to make WC decision Tuesday morning

BALTIMORE -- An aggressive recovery plan to get Vinnie Pasquantino back for October seems to be working, as the Royals slugger, who broke his right thumb on Aug. 29, continues to target a potential return for the AL Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday against the Orioles.

The Royals won’t make an official decision until Tuesday, when they evaluate how Pasquantino feels in the morning. He was scheduled to face live pitching on Monday during a team workout, but there was no outside activity at Camden Yards with the tarp on the field.

Pasquantino instead hit in the batting cages, simulating pitching as best he could with a pitching machine.

“We were hoping to get a live BP in with him today, but we’re not going to be able to do that,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “So we’re going to simulate it the best we can -- not off live pitching, but in the cage machine. And we’ll see how he comes out of that in the morning before we make our decision. He came out of the live BP on Saturday really well, so we were encouraged by that. But this will be another big day to test it.”

Pasquantino suffered a right broken thumb during a defensive play in Houston, a massive blow to the Royals’ lineup and overall roster given what Pasquantino has meant on and off the field. The 26-year-old has become a core part of this team now and in the future, and he drove in 97 runs in 131 games during the regular season sandwiched between Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez in the Royals’ lineup.

The Royals announced a 6-8 week recovery timeline for Pasquantino, who had surgery on his thumb on Sept. 3. That would have meant a return in the AL Division Series at the very earliest if the Royals could get there.

But internally, there was always some optimism Pasquantino could return by the first round. Over the last week in particular, he has ramped up his workload, hitting on the field for the first time last week in Washington, then facing live pitching for the first time on Saturday in Atlanta.

During that session against Royals relievers Will Smith, who is on the injured list with back spasms, and Steven Cruz, Pasquantino was able to handle a variety of situations -- squaring some balls up (he hit one home run against Cruz), hitting them off the end of the bat, and even swing-and-missing to test his thumb.

Pasquantino’s progress has been nothing short of incredible in the last month, and both he and the Royals are hoping it leads to slotting him in the lineup as the designated hitter on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’m doing everything I can,” Pasquantino said after the Royals clinched a postseason spot on Friday night in Atlanta. “We’re progressing as fast and as safe as we can. I’ve got a lot of faith in our training staff and doctors here. We’ll see what happens. I just have to keep attacking every day, and keep supporting these guys.”