It’s never good to see a player injured, especially in the offseason. That might just be the case for Kansas City Royals third baseman, Maikel Garcia.

Garcia, who was set to play once again in the Venezuelan Winter League (LVBP) for Tiburones de La Guaira, is instead heading to Kansas City for x-rays. Garcia shared the news in a post on X late Sunday evening. The post has since been deleted.

A quick scan of La Guaira’s Instagram and X account gives no clues. A Tuesday news drop stated that Garcia had trained with the team. This came after news on November 19 that Garcia would be joining the Sharks sooner than expected, in the next week or two. It’s unclear if that will truly come to pass, especially if Garcia has any long-term injury. Even a less impactful injury could be enough for the Royals to shut him down for the offseason in hopes of keeping him healthy and available for 2025 Spring Training.

Last winter, Garcia had a standout showing with La Guaira. He slashed .424/.543/.576. That showing — as one of the team’s hottest hitters — gave hope that Garcia could translate some of that success into the 2024 season with Kansas City. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Although he was worth 1.1 fWAR on the season, Garcia finished with just a .614 OPS in what was his worst big league season to date. Midway through the season, he lost the leadoff job and spent the back half of 2024 hitting at the bottom of the Royals lineup.

That performance created plenty of questions about what Garcia’s future with the Royals may be. Will the Royals acquire a more productive hitter to man the hot corner in 2025? All of that remains unclear, but any serious injury for Garcia could force the front office to add a third baseman even if they weren’t prepared to beforehand.