ARLINGTON -- With Royals manager Ned Yost expressing interest in expanding to an eight-man bullpen, the team is closely following the progress of lefty Matt Strahm, who was sent to Triple-A Omaha after struggling with his command in three early outings for Kansas City.
Strahm posted a 47.25 ERA with six walks in just 1 1/3 innings for the Royals in the first week of the season. But since being sent down, entering Thursday, Strahm had tossed five scoreless innings in four appearances, striking out seven, allowing two hits and walking none.
Asked how many of those kinds of outings the Royals need to see before Strahm earns his way back to the Majors, Yost said, "As many as we can" -- but he also said "the reports are good" out of Omaha.