2 relievers and outfielders involved in new KC Royals roster changes

Finally free from a troubling seven-game losing streak and just days after claiming Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers and then trading for Yuli Gurriel, the KC Royals are busy making more adjustments on their off day.

With no games scheduled until Friday, the start of a key three-game home series against Minnesota, the Royals brought an outfielder back to the major league roster and made changes to two relievers.

Right fielder Hunter Renfroe returns from the injured list, which has kept him sidelined since Aug. 2 with a hamstring strain. Kansas City made room for him on its 28-man active roster by sending reliever Steven Cruz back to Triple-A Omaha and also designated for assignment reliever Dan Altavilla.

What do these steps mean for the KC Royals?

First off, Kansas City gets Renfroe’s bat back … but it will be interesting to see what manager Matt Quatraro does with it. Renfroe was the club’s regular right fielder before injuring his hamstring, and after a long, slow start to his first season as a Royal — he had a .178 batting average with just four home runs in late May — he’s had a .286 batting average with a .358 OBP and eight home runs since early June.

Now, however, Pham seems comfortable in right field, where he played every day after pitching for the Royals on Sunday. The big three-run home run he hit early in Wednesday’s game against Cleveland proved crucial in the Royals’ 4-1 win over the Guardians, and he has a .294 batting average in his first four games with his new club.

Whether Quatraro opts to let Renfroe get most of his playing time at right guard remains to be seen. He and Pham are both right-handed hitters, making a traditional platoon impossible. Also relevant is that Renfroe’s batting average of .238 in August, despite his improvement since late May, was a marked departure from the .333 and .297 he hit in June and July, respectively.

Cruz’s return to Omaha will not send shockwaves through KC fans. During his two brief stints with the Royals this season, he made just three appearances, had two strikeouts and allowed one of the three runs he inherited in his three appearances. He has a 6-1 record with a 3.35 ERA and two saves in 44 games with Omaha.

The club’s move to Altavilla isn’t surprising either. Altavilla, who was signed as a free agent in December, had scored six runs in 3.2 innings with the Royals, and his only start in five games, an opener against the Yankees in mid-June, went poorly.

Altavilla was also 1-2, 4.11 in eight games for Omaha, where he recently started pitching as part of a rehab after suffering an oblique strain over the summer.

The royals are probably not finished with their actions yet

Sending Cruz to the minor leagues could be a sign of more to come from Kansas City. His transfer to Omaha leaves the Royals with 13 pitchers, but there’s room for one more under the September baseball roster expansion rules. Signing another pitcher seems likely, especially given the club’s ongoing bullpen woes…but to fill out the pitching staff, a non-pitcher will have to be released.

Stay tuned.

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