Before Monday night's game against the Red Sox, the Royals optioned pitcher Eric Skoglund to Triple-A Omaha, calling up Kevin McCarthy to assume Skoglund's place.
Skoglund, who is ranked the club's No. 3 prospect by MLBPipeline.com, struggled in the rotation, as he was twice unable to make it past the second inning after an impressive big league debut May 30, in which he pitched  6 1/3 scoreless innings. The Royals recently shifted Skoglund to the bullpen, but he never saw action there.
"We just need him to get back pitching," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Skoglund. "[Skoglund] wasn't going to get that opportunity here. We've got long relief covered."
McCarthy has pitched 6 1/3 innings over four games in the Royals' bullpen and has yet to allow a run. For Omaha, he was 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA through 20 appearances and 27 innings.