Vinnie Pasquantino addresses thumb injury

A conversation with catcher Salvador Perez, which Pasquantino didn’t want to publicly detail, put the situation into perspective and shifted his focus from dejection to the future.

“We are going to attack this thing as hard as you can attack something,” Pasquantino said Monday, speaking for the first time since his injury occurred. “The difference between last year and this year is we are pushing [toward the playoffs] right now, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen, wherever that needs to be.

“We’re just going to attack it and try to get it as strong as we can and see what happens from there. But in my mind, my season’s not over. Whether that’s realistic or not, I don’t know.”

The Royals gave a six- to eight-week timeline for Pasquantino’s return, meaning the team would have to make a deep run in the postseason to get their slugging first baseman back if that timeline holds.

Pasquantino has his own timeline, he said, although he declined to publicize that.

With his right thumb/wrist in a sling for now, Pasquantino has not had surgery yet. He was supposed to over the weekend, but there was too much swelling. Pasquantino had a meeting scheduled with the surgeon on Monday with the hopes of undergoing surgery on Tuesday.

From there, the bone has to heal properly, but it’s safe to say Pasquantino will be as aggressive with his rehab program as he can be in hopes of returning to help the Royals in October.

Until then, the Royals will do what they can to replace Pasquantino’s bat in the lineup, although his 97 RBIs and .957 OPS with runners in scoring position will be sorely missed. New pickups Tommy Pham, Robbie Grossman and Yuli Gurriel could help, especially with their on-base percentages, as well as improvements from the rest of the order. A lot will fall on the bats of Perez and Bobby Witt Jr.

Pasquantino has all the confidence in the world in his team, and he’s going to try to help where he can, whether that’s in advance hitters meetings, the cages or the clubhouse.

“I’m just one guy,” Pasquantino said. “And we all know in baseball that one player doesn’t make or break anything with the team. It’s a team of 28 guys now, and if that team is pulling the same rope, you got a shot. You just got to go in and do your job. … You do the little things right with this team, you’re going to be in a good spot.

“This team has nothing but fight in it. They’re going to keep fighting, keep doing the little things right, keep playing the game the right way, keep playing hard and see where we are at the end of it.”

This is not the first time Pasquantino has dealt with a significant injury; he had shoulder surgery last year that sidelined him the final three months of the season. This year is different because the Royals are playing meaningful games late in the year instead of on their way to 106 losses like in 2023, and Pasquantino’s thumb was broken on an actual play.

But Pasquantino wants to be on the field no matter what.

“That’s the part that’s so upsetting to me,” Pasquantino said. “When I close my eyes and envision what my career could look like in Kansas City, I want it to be a long one and a healthy one. Thus far, every year something has happened. This one’s different than the shoulder because it was an actual play. That’s where I get the most upset, where it’s like, ‘Man, I just want to be out there and be able to help.’ Things like this happen, and it’s like, ‘What do I got to do?’ And there’s nothing I could have done.

“… I’m going to continue to fight to be here and to be a productive Major League player and to help this team get to the playoffs and try to win championships. It sucks right now, but I’m going to do whatever I can to change that in the future.”