Matt Treanor to rehab with Naturals
The 35-year old Treanor is recovering from a concussion he sustained at home plate on Saturday, July 30th in a collision with the Cleveland Indians' Matt LaPorta. Following that game, Treanor was placed on Major League Baseball's new seven-day disabled list, reserved specifically for players who have sustained concussions during play. Later he was transferred to the standard 15-day DL.
New rules implemented by Major League Baseball facilitate a concussed player's return to the field only once they have performed and passed a series of both cognitive and physical tests, something Treanor passed earlier in the week, clearing the way for the rehab assignment. Monday, Treanor told MLB.com's Royals' beat reporter Dick Kaegel he expects to catch six innings tonight and seven innings Friday night. He is also interested in extra at-bats as the designated hitter, which could occur on Thursday. Kaegel surmised that with the Royals currently giving former Natural Salvador Perez the lion's share of playing time behind the plate, Kansas City may not activate Treanor until September 1st when rosters expand.
Acquired by the Royals just prior to the season in a trade with the Texas Rangers, this season has been a homecoming of sorts for Treanor, who was originally drafted and signed by Kansas City back in 1994. Treanor was their fourth-round selection that year but never played for the Royals at the big league level prior to this season, having been dealt in 1997 to the Florida Marlins.
In portions of eight seasons at the Major League level, the defensive-minded Treanor has a .227 batting average with 16 homers and 118 RBI's in 425 games. Treanor owns a .989 fielding percentage in 411 big league games behind the plate. This will be Treanor's first appearance at the Double-A classification since the 2001 and 2002 seasons, when he caught 85 games for Double-A Portland (Maine) in the Eastern League.
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.