Royals rookie Carter Jensen was scratched from their lineup shortly before their 5-1 loss to the Twins on Thursday after oversleeping and not arriving at Kauffman Stadium with enough time to get prepped for the game.
“Carter had an oversight,” manager Matt Quatraro told reporters following the game, according to MLB.com. “Overslept. Wasn’t here on time, and we made the decision to scratch him from the lineup. … He’s a stand-up guy, a really hard worker, a great kid. He feels terrible. He’s accountable to it.
Royals catcher Carter Jensen drives in a run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning against the Braves at Truist Park. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images “It’s not something that has been a pattern or any of that kind of stuff. Nobody feels worse than he does, and I think he’ll admit to that. And we’ll move on.”
Jensen, who was slated to catch, was replaced by Royals veteran Salvador Perez behind the plate, who was initially set to be the designated hitter. The 22-year-old later came in to catch in the ninth inning.
To his credit, Jensen owned up to the mistake, telling reporters that he woke up in “full panic” and tried to get to the field as soon as possible.
“No running from it,” Jensen said. “Just didn’t wake up to my alarm. Slept through it. Don’t really have an excuse, nor should I. It sucks. Happens. I felt like I let my teammates down, coaches down. Just learn from it and know it won’t happen again.”
Royals designated hitter Carter Jensen (left) looks on with teammate right fielder Jac Caglianone (right) before a game against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Peter Aiken-Imagn Images With Jensen arriving late, the Royals had to lean on Perez to prep with starting pitcher Cole Ragans.
“You got a 36-year-old catcher preparing to DH today, and then his world gets a little rocked an hour and a half before the game that he’s not going to be DHing,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “Credit to Salvy today for being ready, first and foremost.”
Jensen admitted that there was “a lot” to learn from his blunder, saying that he will be setting “a million alarms” to get up early for day games.
“There’s a lot to learn from it. Making sure if I don’t set one alarm, maybe set three, four, as many as possible,” Jensen said. “Moving forward, that’s what I’m going to do. Set a million alarms. Make sure I’m up. It stinks, though.”
Jensen is Kansas City’s top prospect, according to MLB.com, and briefly saw the big-league diamond last year, when he put up an impressive slash line of .300/.391/.550, with six doubles and three home runs in 20 games.
