ROYALS
Frasor out, Moustakas off
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals designated reliever Jason Frasor for assignment and placed third baseman Mike Moustakas on the bereavement list before Monday night’s game against Tampa Bay.
The Royals recalled infielder Cheslor Cuthbert and outfielder Paulo Orlando from Class AAA Omaha, giving them additional roster flexibility with several players banged up.
Center fielder Lorenzo Cain has been hampered by a hamstring and right fielder Alex Rios, who missed time earlier this season with a broken hand, has been in a deep rut.
Frasor, 37, was 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA in 26 games for the Royals’ league-best bullpen. But with almost no options left among the rest of the relief corps, Frasor simply became the odd man out in a numbers game.
Orlando returns to the Royals for the second time. He hit .241 with three doubles, five triples and a homer in 32 games over the first two months of the season.
Moustakas left in the sixth inning of Sunday’s victory over Minnesota. This is the second time he’s been placed on the family medical emergency list.
Cuthbert, 22, who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2009, is making his first appearance on the 25-man roster. He hit.256 with 8 home runs and 33 RBI for Omaha after playing most of last season at Class AA Northwest Arkansas, where he was a Texas League all-star.
Cuthbert has split time between third base, first base and designated hitter.
PIRATES
Harrison to DL
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman and leadoff hitter Josh Harrison was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a left thumb injury.
Harrison jammed his thumb Sunday while stealing a base in the seventh inning of a victory over the Cleveland Indians. He is scheduled to undergo testing to see if there is any structural damage and also to determine a timetable for his return.
In 75 games, Harrison is hitting .279 with 4 home runs and 9 stolen bases. He was second in the NL last season with a .315 batting average in his first year as a regular.
First baseman Travis Ishikawa was added to the active roster, a day after being claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
Rookie infielder Jung Ho Kang will likely get the majority of playing time there while Harrison is sidelined.
PHILLIES-DIAMONDBACKS
Former UA pitcher to Arizona
ATLANTA — The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the No. 1 overall international signing slot for the 2015-2016 signing period in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks obtained two minor league pitchers — right-hander Chris Oliver (Arkansas Razorbacks) and left-hander Josh Taylor — and the No. 9 overall signing slot.
Oliver, 21, is 3-3 with a 4.33 ERA at Class A Lakewood. The 22-year-old Taylor is 4-4 with a 4.56 ERA at Lakewood.