Brian Flynn Injures Ribs After Falling Through Barn Roof, Will Miss 8 Weeks

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Brian Flynn will be out for a minimum of eight weeks after falling through the roof of his barn, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports in Kansas City, Missouri, reported Tuesday.

"He was working on his barn and fell through the roof," Royals manager Ned Yost said Tuesday, per the Kansas City Star's Rustin Dodd. "So he took a pretty good tumble, knocked himself out. So he’s going to be about eight weeks behind everybody else."

Yost told reporters that Flynn suffered a broken rib and three non-displaced fractures in his vertebrae.

After spending the 2015 season and the beginning of the 2016 campaign with Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate, the 26-year-old made his Royals debut May 6 in the team's 7-1 defeat to the Cleveland Indians. In 36 appearances, Flynn posted a 2.60 ERA and a 4.03 FIP, per Baseball-Reference.com.

Prior to the injury, Flynn had a good chance at claiming a spot in Kansas City's bullpen coming out of spring training, especially since the team has to replace Wade Davis and Luke Hochevar.

Given the timetable for Flynn's return, the left-hander will almost certainly begin the 2017 season on the disabled list. The Royals begin the year April 3 on the road against the Minnesota Twins, and Flynn will be back mid-April at the earliest.