Royals Writer Declares Young Reliever Is 'On Thin Ice'

The Kansas City Royals were unable to extend their winning streak to seven games, falling 7-3 to the Houston Astros in Sunday's series finale. The loss dropped them back below the .500 mark at 14-15.

Now, the Royals will prepare for a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays starting Tuesday.

The team has been without a key relief arm in right-hander Hunter Harvey. He is working his way back, however and could soon rejoin the bullpen.

Oliver Vandervoort of FanSided made a list of three Royals arms on thin ice with Harvey's impending return, and Jonathan Bowlan was one of the pitchers listed.

"Bowlan has just one appearance in 2025 since just getting called up. Now, it was a good one, as he sat down the side in order in both the eighth and ninth innings of Sunday afternoon's loss to the Astros. But, at the end of the day though, it's just a couple innings of low-leverage work. If Harvey can make his way back quickly, logistically Bowlan seems the most likely option for demotion," Vandervoort writes.

Bowlan appeared in just one game in 2024 and posted a 13.50 ERA over 2 2/3 innings of work. His stats for 2025 so far are obviously much better, even in such a small sample size.

However, it would make sense for the Royals to send him down to clear a spot for Harvey. There doesn't seem to be a long-term fit for Bowlan at the moment.

We'll see what they decide to do.

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