Crow was demoted with a 6-1 record and 3.86 ERA in 59 relief appearances. John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City right-hander Aaron Crow, who was a 2011 All-Star selection as a rookie, was optioned Wednesday to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to make roster space for right-hander Liam Hendriks, who was making a spot start.
Crow was demoted with a 6-1 record and 3.86 ERA in 59 relief appearances. Crow’s shortcoming was he had minor league options remaining.
“We just have so few guys right now that have options,” manager Ned Yost said. “And we can get him back in six days. We needed a spot for Hendriks so we could skip Yordano (Ventura, sore back) and that’s what we came up with.”
The plan is for Crow to throw two innings Thursday for the Naturals and another inning Sunday and rejoin the Royals on Tuesday after the Northwest Arkansas season ends.
“You don’t really want to do it, but we did it with Wade Davis last year at the end of the year,” Yost said. “It’s something that you just have to do. Luckily for us, it’s not a deal where we miss him for 10 days. He’ll be back in six days and right back in the thick of it.”
Davis pitched two innings on Aug. 31 last season for High-A Wilmington before rejoining the Royals in September.
