Royals lose Mike Moustakas to torn ACL following collision with Alex Gordon

The collision broke Gordon's wrist and tore Moustakas' ACL. Ouch

By Mike Axisa

May 26, 2016 at 4:36 pm ET • 1 min read

The news from Sunday's collision has gone from bad to worse for the Royals. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas collided chasing a foul ball, and both players suffered a long-term injury.

First, Gordon was placed on the DL with a broken bone in his hand earlier this week. He's expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Then on Thursday, Moustakas had to be placed on the DL with a torn ACL:

Mike Moustakas headed to 15-day DL with a torn right ACL. Brett Eibner called up from Omaha.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) May 26, 2016

Brutal. That has to be one the costliest collisions in history. Gordon and Moustakas are two of Kansas City's best players and they managed to take each other out chasing after a foul ball. Here's the video:

Moustakas, 27, only recently returned from a thumb injury. He's hit .240/.301/.500 (114 OPS+) with seven home runs in 27 games around the injuries this year. Last season Moustakas broke out with 22 home runs and a 120 OPS+.

The Royals come into Thursday with a 24-22 record. They're only two games back of the AL Central lead, so they're very much in the race. Defending that World Series title is going to be awfully tough with Gordon and Moustakas on the shelf though.

Gordon and Moustakas join Kris Medlen (shoulder), Jason Vargas (Tommy John surgery), and Chris Young (forearm) on the DL. Two starting position players and three starting pitchers. Rough.