Kansas City Royals put Heasley on IL, recall Foster Griffin ... with more moves to come

One day after Kansas City Royals right-hander Jonathan Heasley took the mound and felt like the ball simply “wasn’t coming out” with its normal zip and velocity, the club placed him on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder tendinitis.

The move came one day before the Royals play host to the division-rival Detroit Tigers in a Monday doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium.

With nine games remaining (including Sunday’s matinee) before the MLB All-Star break, the Royals’ pitching staff — specifically the starting rotation — has more changes on the horizon in the coming days.

Left-hander Foster Griffin joined the team on Sunday. The Royals recalled him from Triple-A Omaha to fill Heasley’s roster spot. Griffin, who has made five appearances out of the bullpen in the majors this season, has already been called up and then optioned to the minors three previous times since May 22.

While Griffin will provide bullpen depth, the Royals are slated to start right-hander Brad Keller and left-hander Daniel Lynch in Monday’s games. Lynch has been with the club during the current homestand but still hasn’t been activated from the IL. He’d been sidelined by a blister on his pitching hand since June 23.

With Lynch and Keller pitching on the same day, Heasley’s spot in the rotation will still need to be filled. Heasley’s turn would’ve come up again on Thursday for the series opener in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

While the Royals haven’t announced their pitching plans for that series, left-hander Angel Zerpa arrived in Kansas City on Sunday. He has not been officially added to the active roster.

Zerpa, 22, was one of the pitchers vying for a spot on the major-league roster during spring training. He made his major-league debut late last season. He pitched five innings and allowed two unearned runs in a start against Cleveland on September 30.

This season, Zerpa made 13 starts for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He has posted a record of 2-5 with a 4.36 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP and a .276 opponent’s batting average with 69 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched.

Heasley allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits in 1 1/3 innings, the shortest outing of his career.

“That one kinda came out of nowhere,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “After throwing so well in Houston, that one caught us off guard. We’re fortunate the guys in the pen did a nice job of getting us through. That could’ve been a very rough one. Especially leading into what will be a doubleheader tomorrow.”