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.