Royals place Brad Keller on injured list and lose Jarrod Dyson to waivers claim
.jpg "Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller throws against the Chicago Cubs in the first inning on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at Wrigley Field in Chicago.")
Starting pitcher Brad Keller and veteran outfielder Jarrod Dyson had been mainstays on the Kansas City Royals roster since opening day, but Friday night neither was on the club’s active roster headed into the second game of a four-game set in Seattle.
Dyson, who turned 37 on August 15, will take his brand of high-energy speed and defensive prowess to a Toronto Blue Jays club that entered the Friday night 5 1/2 games out of a wildcard spot. The Blue Jays claimed Dyson off of waivers.
Meanwhile, Keller’s absence came with much more angst as the Royals placed him on the 10-day IL with a right lat strain one day after he left his start in the middle of the fifth inning due to shoulder pain.
The Royals reinstated right-handed reliever Josh Staumont from the injured list and recalled outfielder Edward Olivares to fill the roster spots vacated by Keller’s injury and Dyson’s move to the Blue Jays.
Keller, the club’s opening day starter in two of the past three seasons, was officially placed on the IL with a right lat strain.
Keller struggled with command in the first inning of his start on Thursday night against the Mariners, but he cruised through the second and third innings on a total of 19 pitches as he retired six consecutive batters.
However, he felt pain in his shoulder in the fourth inning and tried to pitch through it until manager Mike Matheny and head athletic trainer Nick Kenney came out to the mound with one out in the fifth inning.
“I watched that first inning to try to figure out is there something going on physically here that’s not allowing him to make the pitches that he normally would make,” Matheny said. “The life still looked good. His previous few starts looked good. There was nothing leading in that direction. Then, fortunately, Nick saw something in that fifth that said there’s something going on here, let’s just go talk to him.”
Keller was tied for the team lead in wins (eight) and starts (26) as of Friday. He’d gone 8-12 with a 5.39 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP, 120 strikeouts and 64 walks in 133 2/3 innings.
The Royals had been using a six-man pitching rotation. Staumont’s return gives them an additional bullpen arm for the time being. They’ll still have Kris Bubic, Carlos Hernández, Daniel Lynch, Brad Singer and Mike Minor as starters.
Staumont spent just one day on the IL for an undisclosed reason. The one-day stint indicates his status change was coronavirus-related. MLB created a separate COVID-19 injured list that has no minimum duration. It applies to players who’ve contracted the virus as well as those who’ve shown symptoms or have had close contact with someone infected.
Olivares, whom the Royals acquired from the San Diego Padres last summer, has been recalled for the sixth time this season.
This season with Triple-A Omaha, Olivares has slashed .298/.370/.524 with 11 doubles, three triples, 13 homers and 46 runs scored in 63 games.
In his 20 games in the majors this season headed into Friday night, Olivares slashed .246/.283/.456 with four home runs, six RBIs and two stolen bases.
