Instead of starting Burch Smith, Royals will call up the second piece of the Moose trade

The second piece of the Mike Moustakas trade will make his Royals debut on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Jorge Lopez, a 25-year-old right-handed pitcher, will be recalled from Class AAA Omaha to start against the Blue Jays. To add Lopez to the roster, the Royals placed right-hander Blaine Boyer on unconditional release waivers.

Rule 5 acquisition Burch Smith had been slated to make the start. But with six weeks left in the season, the Royals decided to move Smith, who posted a 6.97 ERA (47 earned runs in 60 2/3 innings) in seven starts, back to the bullpen and take a look at Lopez.

Lopez last pitched for the Storm Chasers on Aug. 7, a 5 2/3 inning performance in which he yielded three hits and one walk while striking out seven. In his only other outing for the Storm Chasers on Aug. 1, he surrendered four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Lopez had spent much of the season shuttling between the Brewers and their Class AAA affiliate at Colorado Springs. He hadn’t made a start this season until the Royals acquired him along with outfielder Brett Phillips on July 27 in exchange for Moustakas.

Lopez had a 5.65 ERA in 26 outings for Colorado Springs and a 2.75 ERA in 10 outings for Milwaukee. Between all three of his stops, he’s struck out 49 batters and issued 24 walks.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 11:53 PM.