Lovelady rejoins bullpen; Royals designate Flynn
KANSAS CITY -- The Royals on Friday continued to accelerate their youth movement and rebuild by recalling 24-year-old left-hander Richard Lovelady from Triple-A Omaha and designating for assignment left-hander Brian Flynn.
Kansas City also reinstated right-hander Jakob Junis from the paternity list and optioned right-hander Jake Newberry back to Omaha.
Lovelady spent much of April and May with the Royals, and he posted a 4.26 ERA in 16 games with a 1.42 WHIP. In 20 games with Omaha, he had a 1.59 ERA.
“We were just ready for him to come back and move forward,” manager Ned Yost said. “It was time. Now, he just needs to be a little more on the attack.”
Flynn, 29, was a workhorse on the staff last season, appearing in 48 games with a 4.04 ERA. But he struggled with consistency this season. In 11 games, he had a 5.22 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP.
“We’ve given him a fair opportunity up here and he just needs to work to be more consistent,” Yost said.
Yost said the Royals are hoping he’ll be able to stay in the organization.
“We’ll go through the five days and if we can’t make a deal, send him through waivers,” Yost said, “and if no one claims him, we can hopefully outright him to Omaha.”
Flynn is on a one-year, $800,000 contract so he does have incentive to accept an assignment to Omaha if he clears waivers.
Mondesi update
Shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, who is on the 10-day injured list, continues to recover from his left shoulder subluxation.
“He won’t be examined again until Tuesday or Wednesday by the doctors,” Yost said. “But he’s making progress. The last report said he had continued reduction of soreness from the original event. He was able to do rehab with no increase in symptoms. He did light running [Thursday] with light throwing and catching in the cage. So, just getting better.”
Jeffrey Flanagan covered the Royals starting in 1991, and for MLB.com from 2015-2020. Follow him on Twitter at @FlannyMLB.