Kansas City, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is expected to be sidelined 3-6 weeks due to a stress fracture in his right hand.
Hosmer aggravated an injury he suffered July 20 in a loss to Boston when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning. He played most of the time since then, but missed a few contests due to the injury. Hosmer then departed Thursday's win over the Twins and had x-rays that revealed a stress fracture of the third metacarpal.
"Anytime you lose a player of his caliber, it hurts," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I like our team, I think we'll be able to overcome it."
Hosmer is hitting .267 with six homers and 46 RBI this season. He had a career-best 16-game hitting streak from June 30 - July 20.
Kansas City is four games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central.
The injury to Hosmer is concerning considering the Royals traded away infielder Danny Valencia to Toronto earlier this week for catcher Erik Kratz and pitcher Liam Hendriks.
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