Royals scratch catcher Carter Jensen after he overslept his alarm ahead of loss to the Twins
Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen was unexpectedly taken out of the starting lineup on Thursday for an incredibly human reason: He overslept.Jensen was set to start against the Minnesota Twins, giving veteran catcher Salvador Perez a break. But Jensen was late after sleeping through his alarm, leaving manager Matt Quatraro with no choice but scratch Jensen late and put Perez back behind the plate.Carter had an oversight, Quatraro said after the Royals 5-1 loss to the Twins, via MLB.com. Overslept. Wasnt here on time, and we made the decision to scratch him from the lineup.Quatraro clarified that this was a rare instance for the 22-year-old catcher.Hes a stand-up guy, a really hard worker, a great kid. He feels terrible. Hes accountable to it. Its not something that has been a pattern or any of that kind of stuff. Nobody feels worse than he does, and I think hell admit to that. And well move on, he added.Jensen ended up stepping in as catcher in the top of the ninth inning, giving Perez a breather. Minnesota hit three solo homers in that inning to take the 5-1 lead.Postgame, Jensen was up front about his mistake.No running from it, Jensen told reporters, via MLB.com. Just didnt wake up to my alarm. Slept through it. Dont 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 wont happen again.Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said postgame that the team was initially worried that something had happened to Jensen, but that he hoped that the young catcher would learn from the situation.Once you find out hes okay its like, alright, its a growing moment. Hes really young. There are some things that cannot happen and thats one of them. Hes going to have to wear it on the chin, same way anybody would have to. It cant happen. And hopefully, it doesnt happen again, Pasquantino said, via KSHBs McKenzie Nelson. I know he feels really bad. I know that it was not his favorite drive to the field this morning, but it wasnt our favorite morning, either, trying to figure out what was going on. Hell learn from it. Grow up a little bit.Were here for him, though. Its not like anybodys mad at him, he continued. But you got to learn from mistakes like that, and maybe get another alarm clock or something.Pasquantino pointed out that Perez, who was supposed to just be the designated hitter before Jensen was scratched, was able to step in as a catcher despite having his world gets a little rocked an hour and a half before the game.Credit to Salvy today for being ready, Pasquantino said.#Royals: Carter Jensen overslept and was scratched from today's lineup. Here's what Vinnie Pasquantino had to say about the situation after the game. @KSHB41pic.twitter.com/BHHt6k1G6n McKenzie Nelson (@McKenzieMNelson) April 2, 2026Jensen seemed to agree with Pasquantinos advice, saying that he would learn his lesson and up his alarm count.Theres a lot to learn from it. Making sure if I dont set one alarm, maybe set three, four, as many as possible, Jensen said, via MLB.com. Moving forward, thats what Im going to do. Set a million alarms. Make sure Im up. It stinks, though.Kansas City starts a home series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Given that Perez never got his expected break, its likely that Jensen (a million alarms later) will be back behind the plate.
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