Every team needs bullpen arms at this time of year, especially on a squad like the Kansas City Royals that doesn’t have an offense that puts games away.
It’s been the pitching staff that has kept the Royals afloat this season, but just as it’s getting to be crunch time, Kansas City has been crunched by the injury bug. And that trend continued on Monday as a reliever who’s hardly thrown at all this year is headed back to the injured list.
Plus, the sting is made all the worse by the fact that when said reliever has pitched this year, hardly anyone has touched him.
The Royals placed right-handed pitcher Hunter Harvey on the 15-day injured list on Monday, recalling right-handed pitcher Luinder Avila to take his place. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reported on the transaction.
“A late roster move for the (Royals): Hunter Harvey has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right adductor strain. It’s Harvey’s second IL stint this year. He just came back July 25,” Rogers wrote.
“RHP Luinder Avila has been recalled for what would be his MLB debut in his first appearance.”
Harvey, who arrived in Kansas City via trade last summer, has yet to allow a run in 10 2/3 innings of work this season, striking out 11 batters. But as nice as the 0.00 ERA sounds, the low innings total has cost the Royals plenty.
Kansas City also paid a steep price to get Harvey last summer, sending then-No. 2 prospect Cayden Wallace and a Comp. Round A draft pick to the Washington Nationals (basically, a late first-round/early second-round equivalent).
The silver lining here could be the Royals finally giving Avila a major league look. The 23-year-old is currently the 14th-ranked prospect in Kansas City’s system, per MLB Pipeline. He’s got 61 strikeouts in only 50 1/3 innings of work this year, relying heavily on an above-average fastball and nasty 12-6 curve.
Still, one can’t help but feel for Harvey, who will hit free agency this winter with perhaps only a 10-inning workload to show for himself this year. Elbow injuries can certainly be tricky, and as much as the Royals would love to have him back this year, Harvey needs to be sure he has a clean bill of health before winter arrives.
More MLB: Royals Must Make This Roster Move Before Playoff Hopes Collapse
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