The Kansas City Royals placed rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow strain and center fielder Kyle Isbel on the 10-day IL for a strained left hamstring, ending their seasons on Thursday.
In corresponding moves, Kansas City recalled two rookies, right-hander Luinder Avila and outfielder John Rave, from Triple-A Omaha.
Bergert, 25, felt tightness in his right forearm during a bullpen session on Wednesday. He last pitched on Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings of a no-decision in the team’s 8-6 loss at Philadelphia.
He is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA, 17 walks and 39 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings over eight starts since the Royals acquired him and right-hander Stephen Kolek from the San Diego Padres for catcher Freddy Fermin at the trade deadline.
Bergert is a combined 2-2 with a 3.66 ERA, 35 walks and 73 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings over 19 games (15 starts) since making his major league debut with San Diego in April.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” Bergert told MLB.com. “Obviously, I wanted to finish the season strong and compete with all the guys. I know I’ve only been over here for a few months, but just wanted to finish the season with them. It would have meant a lot. Sucks, but at the end of the day, it’s where we’re at.”
Isbel, 28, last played on Wednesday, going hitless in his lone at-bat in a 7-5 home win over Seattle. He pulled up short and limped for a few steps when grounding out to first base to end the bottom of the second inning. A standout on defense as the Royals’ everyday center fielder for two-plus seasons, Isbel was replaced by Tyler Tolbert.
“With the position that Izzy plays and the type of player he is, he has to be able to go full speed,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He was not going to be able to do that, whether this was May or September.”
Isbel batted .255 with four home runs and 33 RBIs with a .301 on-base percentage and .353 slugging percentage in 135 games.
For his career, Isbel is a .238 hitter with 23 homers and 144 RBIs in 496 games since his major league debut with Kansas City in April 2021.
Rave, 27, is batting .199 (27-for-136) with four homers and 13 RBIs in 64 games for Kansas City.
Avila, 24, is 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA, four walks and 11 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings over eight relief appearances for the Royals this season.
The Royals have nine games remaining in the regular season, the last on Sept. 28 against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.
