The Royals have placed righty reliever Doug Waechter on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right elbow. Waechter has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. To replace Waechter on the roster the Royals have recalled righty starting pitcher Brian Bannister. Bannister will replace Horacio Ramirez in the starting rotation. In his first start with the Royals, Bannister beat the Indians working 6 innings allowing 4 hits, walking 2 batters and allowing no runs. Ramirez has pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the Royals this season and he is 0-1 with a 8.59 ERA and a 2.18 WHIP. This was a smart move for the Royals as Ramirez was throwing batting practice.

The Royals will be without starting 3B Alex Gordon for the next 10-12 weeks after he underwent surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his right hip. Gordon has played in 7 games for the Royals this season and he was 2 for 21 (.095 avg, .507 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Mark Teahan will replace Gordon as the starting 3B and he’s off to a very nice start. He has played in 10 games for the Royals so far this season and he is 13 for 37 (.351 avg, .943 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. The Royals have recalled 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Mitch Maier from AAA to replace Gordon on the active roster. Maier is the #23 rated prospect in the Royals’ minor league system according to Baseball America. Maier has played in 6 games in AAA ball this season and he is 10 for 27 (.370 avg, 1.086 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. He has only played in 1 game for the Royals this season so far and he is 0 for 1. Look for Maier to get some playing time in RF while Jose Guillen is out due to injury.

The Royals have placed starting RF Jose Guillen on the 15-day disabled list with a torn right groin muscle. He has played in 3 games for the Royals this season and he is 2 for 12 (.167 avg) with a run scored and 1 stolen base. Guillen will be replaced in RF by Mark Teahan. Teahan has played in 3 games for the Royals this season and he is 3 for 12 (.250 avg) with a double and a RBI. Alberto Callaspo will replace Teahan as the starting 2B for the Royals until Guillen is ready to return. He has only played in 1 game so far this season for the Royals and he is 2 for 2 (1.000 avg) with a double and a run scored. The Royals will definately miss the power that Guillen provides.

The Royals have claimed 26-year old righty swinging 3B Travis Metcalf off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Metcalf played in 23 games for the Rangers last season and he was 13 for 56 (.232 avg, .868 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs. He has now played in 80 games in his major league career and he is 54 for 217 (.249 avg, .775 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 11 homers and 35 RBIs. Metcalf is a decent player and the price was right for the Royals to gamble on him.

The Royals have designated 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Shane Costa for assignment. Costa did not play in the majors last season for the Royals. Costa played in 154 games for the Royals in his career and he was 107 for 421 (.254 avg, .655 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 5 homers, 42 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Royals won’t likely miss Costa who will likely benefit from a fresh start with another ball club.