Brandon Maurer is back! Wait, why?

The Royals have recalled reliever Brandon Maurer from AAA Omaha and have optioned Jason Adam down. Maurer was shipped down April 13 after a tough start and gave up 17 runs (14 earned) in 23 innings for Omaha for a 5.48 ERA with 23 strikeouts and 13 walks. He had pitched much better over the last month, with 11 straight outings without allowing an earned run.

To say that Brandon Maurer has been an absolute disaster in a Royals uniform would be an understatement. His 8.88 ERA since being acquired by the Royals is the eighth-highest in club history by a pitcher with at least 20 innings with the team (Albie Lopez leads the pack, followed by Maurer’s teammate, Blaine Boyer).

The Royals are paying Brandon Maurer $2.95 million this year, and he has shown the ability to miss bats in his career. His ERA has underperformed his FIP, so perhaps he still has some upside. Most likely the Royals want to see if they can salvage any value from him with six weeks to go before the trade deadline. If Maurer can suddenly become a decent reliever, he may actually have suitors in July since he has another year of club control after this one.

As for Adam, it is a bit surprising to see him sent down after he showed flashes of good potential. But he has had problems with the long ball - giving up six in just 15 ¹⁄₃ innings, including a home run in each of his last two outings. You can expect he will be back before too long.

So Brandon Maurer and Justin Grimm are back in the Royals’ bullpen, and Blaine Boyer is still in the organization, sitting on the disabled list. If you wanted to relive those first two weeks of bullpen blues, the band is apparently getting back together.