KANSAS CITY -- On Thursday, the Royals announced that they selected the contract of outfielder Bubba Starling, their No. 1 Draft pick from 2011.

The Royals designated outfielder Terrance Gore for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster Friday for the promotion of Starling. Starling started in center field in the series opener against the Tigers on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

“I want to thank the Royals for everything,” Gore told MLB.com. “They treated me well.”

Starling, who was removed from the 40-man roster last fall and then resigned, has fought back from injury time and again. He played in only 20 games last season because of injuries to his oblique.

But Starling, who will turn 27 on Aug. 3, has fought back and performed at the highest level of his career in 2019.

Starling is hitting .310 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs at Triple-A Omaha, along with nine stolen bases.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore told MLB.com that Starling wasn’t coming to Kansas City to sit on the bench.

“He’s coming up here to play regularly,” Moore said. “He can obviously play anywhere in the outfield. I’m not saying he’ll play 10 straight days, but he’ll play regularly.

“It’s tough for someone to miss all of the 2018 season as he did. But it was clear he was on a mission this season. We saw that in Spring Training, and he has done very well at Omaha.”

The Starling promotion, much like the promotion of Nicky Lopez last month, has been much anticipated by the Royals’ fan base.

“This is a celebration for what he has earned,” Moore said. “He has had three solid months of production and good health. We look forward to his arrival.”