Royals reliever Josh Taylor to undergo lower back surgery

Royals reliever Josh Taylor will undergo surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back, tweets Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The team hasn’t provided a recovery timetable.

Taylor has been on the injured list for a month while battling a shoulder impingement. The back issue apparently arose during his rehab process. Taylor missed the entire 2022 campaign as he battled a lower back strain.

It’s obviously an unfortunate setback that makes it seem likely he’ll find himself on the 60-day injured list once the club needs a 40-man roster spot. A 60-day IL transfer could be backdated to the time of his initial placement even though he’s now dealing with a separate injury.

Kansas City acquired the southpaw over the offseason in a swap that sent Adalberto Mondesí to the Red Sox. The deal hasn’t worked for either team, as both players have battled injuries. Mondesí still hasn’t played for Boston as he works back from last year’s ACL tear. 

Taylor has made 17 appearances for K.C. but been tagged for 16 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. He has struck out just under 32% of opposing hitters, an excellent clip, but nine walks and four homers contributed to the inflated ERA.

This is Taylor’s second season of arbitration eligibility. He’s making $1.025M this year and eligible for the process twice more. An extended absence would increase the odds of Kansas City non-tendering him next offseason, though it’s unclear precisely how long he’ll be out.