The ankle Melendez sprained against Boston at Fenway Park Sunday will keep the Royals’ left fielder out of action until at least late next week. The club moved Melendez to the 10-day Injured List Tuesday, but the transfer from the active roster is retroactive to July 15.
If all goes well, Melendez could be back in action when, after a day off, the club opens a three-game home series with the Cubs July 26.
Melendez is slashing .192/.257/.385 with 11 homers and 29 RBI in 85 games. He’s been looking better lately, though — in 10 July games, he’s hitting .273, has homered three times and driven in five runs, and is slugging .606.
As of this writing, the team hasn’t announced who’ll replace Melendez on the roster.
