NewsBannister recalled, Waechter to DL
Moves send left-hander Ramirez to the bullpen
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
04/21/09 6:59 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- Starting pitcher Brian Bannister was recalled from Triple-A Omaha by the Royals on Tuesday as reliever Doug Waechter was placed on the 15-day disabled list.Bannister will start Wednesday night's game at Cleveland instead of left-hander Horacio Ramirez. Bannister, after a rough first start for Omaha, has logged nine straight shutout innings while Ramirez has struggled for the Royals.
This move puts Ramirez back in the bullpen, essentially covering Waechter's spot in middle relief.
Waechter has a lateral strain in his right elbow.
"He's been having trouble getting loose and felt some clicking in there and was examined by Dr. [Steve] Joyce on Monday," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.
Although Waechter told the Royals he felt he could pitch through it, the club decided to put him on the disabled list. Waechter had not given up a run this season until Friday night at Texas, when the Rangers jolted him for two solo home runs in one inning of the Royals' 12-3 victory.
Bannister was optioned to Omaha late in Spring Training along with fellow right-hander Luke Hochevar after the Royals decided to use Sidney Ponson and Ramirez in the last two rotation spots.
On Sunday, Bannister was used to pitch just two innings, both scoreless, in Omaha's 3-0 victory over Albuquerque. That brief outing was in anticipation of the move with Waechter and Ramirez.
That gave Bannister nine shutout innings in his last two starts after a rocky first outing in which he gave up five runs in four innings. Overall, his ERA is 3.46 with a 0-1 record.
Bannister rejoined the Royals on Tuesday afternoon at Cleveland.
"The team's been playing well. It's been exciting," Bannister said. "We've watched every game and we were working hard in case anything happened -- and it's unfortunate that Doug got hurt -- but I'm ready to step in and help these guys out."
Hochevar also has been pitching well, with a 3-0 record and 1.89 ERA in three starts for Omaha. He pitched on Monday and gave up just one run in eight innings of a 7-2 victory over Albuquerque.
"It's a good situation to have right now," Moore said. "Both guys are performing very well, and we decided to go with Bannister at this point in time."
With Ponson and Hochevar both sinkerball pitchers, it gives the Royals some contrast in the rotation by adding Bannister, primarily a flyball pitcher, to follow Ponson. Also, Hochevar would not be ready to start again until Saturday.
"Bannister has more Major League experience at this point, and we're very encouraged with the way that both of them are throwing ... that's just the way it fell," Moore said.
Ramirez, signed last winter to a $1.8 million contract, was supposed to give the Royals a left-handed starter in an otherwise all right-handed rotation. But he had a lackluster Spring Training and was penciled in for just two starts this month. He made one on April 11 against Cleveland and went 4 1/3 innings, giving up six runs in a 6-1 loss.
Ramirez has also made two relief appearances, and his overall ERA is 11.12 to go with his 0-1 mark. In 5 2/3 innings, he's given up 12 hits, including two homers and seven runs. Now he's out of the rotation.
"Horacio is not fired up about it," manager Trey Hillman said. "He wants to start, understandably. I don't blame him."
Waechter becomes the third player on the Royals' disabled list. Third baseman Alex Gordon underwent right hip surgery on Friday and is expected to be out until at least late June. Right fielder Jose Guillen has a tear in his right hip flexor and could be back as early as Saturday.
Waechter's stay on the DL is retroactive to April 18. Moore said that once his situation clarifies and he heals, Waechter probably would go on an injury rehabilitation assignment in the Minors.
The elbow started giving him trouble in the last week and a half, and he had an MRI on Monday.
"There was a little bit of something in there. Not a chip but something in there that was causing a pinch when I flexed the arm," Waechter said. "It was taking me longer to warm up and treatment wasn't working. They thought it was smart to shut it down, clear it up and then hopefully we won't have to talk about it again."
Waechter believes he can get back quickly, and so does Moore.
"He's going to be a solid guy for us," Moore said. "He got set back in Spring Training [with a finger blister], and the best thing to do is back him off and get him right."
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
