Royals put Yordano Ventura on 15-day disabled list, Yohan Pino to start Friday

Royals pitchers were on the move Thursday.

▪ Yordano Ventura was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 13.

▪ Yohan Pino was recalled from Omaha to the Royals to make his first major-league start this season, Friday against the Red Sox.

▪ Kris Medlen was headed to a rehabilitation assignment at Class AA Northwest Arkansas.

▪ Danny Duffy was headed to his next rehab start, also at Northwest Arkansas, after stopping by the Royals clubhouse.

Ventura suffered inflammation of his ulnar nerve during his start last Friday in St. Louis. He left the game because of numbness in his right hand. The Royals were going to give him extra time to make his next start, but after a side session on Wednesday, Ventura said the numbing had returned.

“It didn’t make any sense to try and push through this thing right now,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “This is something that if you continue to battle through it, it can get worse.”

Pino appeared in six innings, all in relief, for the Royals earlier this season. He recorded 13 strikeouts in 14 innings with a 0.64 ERA.

He has made six starts in seven appearances at Omaha and is 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA.

Pino made his major-league debut for the Twins last year, finishing 2-5 with a 5.07 ERA in 11 starts. He signed a free-agent contract with the Royals in December.

Friday will mark the third time in four games that the Royals used a starting pitcher who did not open the season in the rotation. Chris Young and Joe Blanton collected victories against the Brewers on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yost tipped his hat to general manager Dayton Moore for adding depth to the pitching staff.

“Dayton did a great job for setting the table (to prepare) for things like this to happen,” Yost said. “We can get through it in good fashion.”

With Ventura, Duffy and Jason Vargas out because of injuries, Jeremy Guthrie, who started Thursday, and Edinson Volquez are the only Royals not to miss a start this season.

Medlen will make his first rehab start on Friday. He underwent a second Tommy John surgery in March 2014.

Duffy surrendered one earned run and struck out six in a 65-pitch rehab assignment at Class AAA Omaha on Wednesday. He’ll make his next rehab start on Monday in Northwest Arkansas because Omaha is on the road.

This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Royals put Yordano Ventura on 15-day disabled list, Yohan Pino to start Friday."