The Royals have designated right-hander Al Alburquerque for assignment, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.
Alburquerque, whom the Royals signed to a minor league deal over the winter, debuted with the big club earlier this month and ended up tossing four innings before losing his 40-man spot. The 30-year-old gave up three earned runs on two hits and three walks during that short span, though he did strike out six.
Alburquerque was once a prominent reliever in Detroit, where he recorded a 3.20 ERA, 11.04 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 and a 47 percent ground-ball rate over 225 innings from 2011-15.