Royals Call Up Surging Prospect To Bolster Bullpen

The Kansas City Royals are slumping. Despite a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday nighty, the team is still very much struggling.

At 30-27, they remain in fourth place in the American League Central and have also lost control of the third Wild Card spot.

Still, they aren't out of the race yet as the month of June nears. But they need a bit of a boost. The pitching staff has been solid, but the offense has struggled.

On Wednesday, they made a roster move to give themselves a fresh arm in the bullpen by calling up reliever Andrew Hoffman.

"The move doesn't come entirely as a shock considering how heavily used the 'pen was on Tuesday during the scheduled bullpen day. And while Hoffmann might be somewhat an unknown entity to some, he's proved to be more than worthy of a promotion this season in the minor leagues," Caleb Moody of Kings of Kauffman wrote on Wednesday at the time of the callup.

Hoffman has performed well at Triple-A Omaha this season. After posting a 6.82 ERA last season, he has made 19 appearances this year and posted a 2.84 ERA across 25 1/3 innings of work. He also is averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings and has a 2.24 FIP.

Kansas City sent left-hander Evan Sisk down to Triple-A as the corresponding move. Hoffman, 25, has yet to make his Major League debut.

It will be interesting to see what he can do in the coming days.

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