ARLINGTON -- With a continually misfiring offense and a gassed bullpen after a 1-0, 13-inning loss to the Rangers on Thursday, the Royals called up outfielder Jorge Bonifacio on Friday and also recalled left-hander Matt Strahm, who is eligible to come back Friday after being demoted to Triple-A Omaha 10 days ago.
Outfielder Paulo Orlando and second baseman Raul Mondesi were optioned to Omaha in corresponding moves.
"Everybody's struggling right now with the exception of [Lorenzo] Cain," manager Ned Yost said. "We need to try to get some bats in there that are productive."
• Bonifacio makes Major League debut
It is no secret the Royals are searching for offense, having scored nine runs in their past six games. Kansas City is last in the Major Leagues in scoring with 43 runs in 16 games. Bonifacio, 23, was hitting .314 with a .994 OPS at Triple-A Omaha. He has three home runs and 12 RBIs.
Orlando is hitting .149 with a .184 on-base percentage and .149 slugging percentage, and Mondesi is hitting .103/.167/.179. Both have played in 14 games. Mondesi was 0-for-4 Thursday, while Orlando was 0-for-5.
"[Mondesi] was starting to get overwhelmed a little bit, he was putting way too much pressure on himself and you could see it in his face a little bit," Yost said. "Trying to do too much, trying to get off to a great start, and it just kind of avalanched on him. If it's affecting your confidence and you start to get a little defeated, you start to lose confidence, it's time to cut the cord, go back and regain some of that confidence with some success."
As for Orlando, Yost said, "Right now he's just in a severe funk. Fifty percent of the swings and misses were at pitches that weren't in the strike zone. He's just not seeing the ball. If we were swinging the bats, if the middle of the order was being productive, we could work through Paulo here, but we can't."
In four outings for Omaha, Strahm has not given up a run in five innings while striking out seven and not walking a batter. He said he made an adjustment to his delivery that had contributed to his early wildness.
"I was getting my hand out earlier for some reason, I was tapping my glove an extra time when I was lifting my leg," Strahm said. "It was something I wanted to get fixed, and get fixed quick."
The Royals were carrying a seven-man bullpen, but there was a need for an additional arm after the marathon loss to the Rangers on Thursday night taxed the bullpen. Kansas City does not have another off-day until Thursday.
Calling up Bonifacio, the team's No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.com, and Strahm, the team's No. 1 prospect, required tough decisions with regard to the corresponding moves. The Royals had said repeatedly in the past week they are not concerned with Mondesi's offense as long as he continues to play exceptional defense.
• Right-hander Kyle Zimmer, the Royals' No. 9 prospect, left Thursday's game with Omaha after one inning because of what a club officials described as shoulder soreness. The club official indicated the move was precautionary and no further details were available. Zimmer had thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last summer and was pain-free in Spring Training. Zimmer's velocity was hitting 95-96 mph this season in two starts for Omaha.
• Kansas City also announced that outfielder Jorge Soler, who has been on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain since April 2, will begin a rehab assignment with Omaha on Friday night.