After learning that they would lose first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino for the rest of the regular season (and possibly the entire postseason), the Kansas City Royals also provided an injury update on reliever Lucas Erceg.

Per Joel Goldberg of the Royals broadcast team:

Lucas Erceg is day to day. Has swelling and soreness in the hand and said he hopes to be back very soon. He’s understandably upset about the play last night. Most upset about the injury to Vinnie Pasquantino. Says his teammates, including Vinnie, supported and consoled him.

Erceg and Pasquantino were injured on the same play Thursday in the loss to the Houston Astros. Erceg was hit by a batted ball, then threw the ball to first base. The throw took Pasquantino into the runner, which is where he suffered his injury.

The 29-year-old Erceg was acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Oakland Athletics. He’s 2-5 this season with a 3.40 ERA. In 51 appearances, he’s struck out 57 batters.

The Royals enter play on Friday at 75-60 overall. They are 1.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central and they currently hold the second wild card spot in the American League.

Kansas City hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015, which is the last year they won the World Series.

The Royals and Astros will play each other again on Friday night. It will be a battle of aces as Seth Lugo (Kansas City) pitches against veteran lefty Framber Valdez for Houston.

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Travis Kelce didn’t shy away from expressing his love for his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, during a Kansas City Chiefs roundtable Wednesday.

The NFL star addressed his relationship with the pop star while participating in a discussion with Chiefs announcer Mitch Holthus, along with fellow players Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Nick Bolton, Justin Reid and Harrison Butker.

“We love you,” the tight end, 34, told Holthus, to which the announcer – famously nicknamed “the voice of the Chiefs” – jokingly asked if Kelce loves him “more than Taylor.”

Kelce briefly paused to ponder the prying question before admitting, “Maybe not.”

The Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network emcee, 67, then focused his attention on Mahomes.

“I won’t hold you up to that. I know the answer,” he told the quarterback, who married his high school sweetheart, Brittany Mahomes, in 2022.

Patrick and Brittany, both 28, share two kids — daughter Sterling, 3, and son Bronze, 1 — and have a third child on the way.

Meanwhile, Kelce and Swift – who secretly started dating last summer – have seemingly been getting more serious in recent months.

The couple, both 34, first publicized their relationship in September 2023 when the “Shake it Off” singer attended Kelce’s NFL game against the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium.

Since then, Swift has hit up many of Kelce’s games and the athlete has also appeared at a number of the singer’s Eras Tour shows around the globe.

The lovebirds are rumored to be getting engaged soon, with a source confirming to Page Six earlier this month that Kelce was planning on getting down on one knee in the near future.

“The engagement is happening soon,” an insider told us, though Kelce’s rep denied that any official engagement plans are in place.

Meanwhile, there is recent speculation that Kelce has already secretly popped the question.

We’re told that the wife of a top Chiefs executive was overheard telling friends in a suite at Morgan Wallen’s Kansas City concert that Swift and Kelce are already betrothed. However, it’s unclear if she had received actual confirmation or was just rehashing online gossip.

Page Six exclusively reported in December 2023 that Kelce was already looking for rings and had even asked Taylor’s father, Scott Swift, for permission to marry his daughter.

Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson and quarterbacks coach Matt Wells only needed one conversation before becoming BFFs.

From there, they have been tight.

“It’s kind of weird because the first time I talked to him was after the bowl game,” Johnson said. “I was actually in Puerto Rico. I talked to him on FaceTime. I feel like it just kind of clicked right from there.”

Wells brings experience to the quarterback position. He has coaching stops at Oklahoma, Utah State and Texas Tech. It could play a role in helping Johnson deal with the high expectations. He is already considered a darkhorse candidate for the Heisman. The Wildcats also enter with the hype of being among the favorites to win the Big 12.

Sometimes, it amazes Johnson how much knowledge Wells brings to the practice fields.

“I was really excited that we got a mind like coach Wells,” Johnson said. “Just kind of growing with him through the spring and fall. It’s weird because whenever I have a question about a play, I’ll come to the sideline and I’ll tell him about the question. Nine times out of 10, he has the same question written down. So it’s like we’re always on the same page. It’s almost like he’s reading my mind out there sometimes. That’s definitely a great position to be in with your co-offensive coordinator.” 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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