The Royals have placed Coco Crisp on the 15-day disabled list with a right rotator cuff strain. Crisp has played in 49 games this season for the Royals and he is 41 for 180 (.228 avg, .714 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers, 14 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Royals will miss Crisp’s speed and defense while he is out of action. Crisp will be replaced in CF by Mitch Maier. Maier has played in 42 games this season for the Royals and he is 16 for 73 (.219 avg, .628 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

The Royals have designated lefty reliever Horacio Ramirez for assignment. Ramirez has pitched in 19 games (1 start) this season for the Royals and he is 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Ramirez pitched in 34 games (1 start) in his two seasons with the Royals and he was 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Royals DFA’d Ramirez to make room on the active roster for Luke Hochevar who started today for them. Hochevar was the winning pitcher for the Royals working 6 2/3 innings and allowing only 4 hits and 2 earned runs while walking 2 batters and whiffing 3. The fine pitching performance today by Hochevar lowered his ERA on the season to 7.85.

UPDATE: The Royals flat out released Ramirez who was then signed by the Washington Nationals.

The Royals thought they knew what they were getting when they traded for Mike Jacobs but he has been better than advertised. Jacobs has played in 43 games for the Royals this season and he is 38 for 148 (.257 avg, .830 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 9 homers and 25 RBIs. He’s the Royals’ team leader in both homers and RBIs and they need him to keep it up because their lineup doesn’t have much power. He could easily whack 30+ homers for the Royals this season as long as he can just stay healthy.

The Royals have placed starting shortstop Mike Aviles on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right forearm. Aviles has played in 36 games this season for the Royals and he is 22 for 120 (.183 avg, .458 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. The Royals hope his injury winds up being a valid excuse because they can’t afford for him to keep hitting below the Mendoza line when he gets back into action. Veteran utility man Willie Bloomquist and Luis Hernandez are getting a lot of P.T. while Aviles is out of action. Bloomquist has been a asset for the Royals so far this season. He has played in 33 games for the Royals and he is 25 for 84 (.298 avg, .776 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Luis Hernandez has a better glove than Bloomquist but he’s not much of a hitter. He has played in 7 games for the Royals this season and he is 3 for 15 (.200 avg, .450 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI.

The Royals have placed shortstop Tony Pena on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left hamate bone. He has played in 10 games for the Royals so far this season and he is 0 for 11 (.000 avg, .083 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. The Royals have recalled 24-year old switch hitting shortstop Luis Hernandez to replace Pena on the active roster. Hernandez has played in 20 games so far this season in AAA-ball and he is 21 for 72 (.292 avg, .658 OPS) with 8 runs scored and 13 RBIs. The Royals shouldn’t miss Pena much as Hernandez is a solid defender.