KC Royals option Noah Cameron back down to Triple-A Omaha after incredible MLB debut

After Noah Cameron put the baseball world on notice, with an incredible debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, the prized Kansas City Royals prospect suffered the somewhat cruel reality of the MLB business, after the team announced he was optioned back to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.

KC Royals option Noah Cameron back to Triple-A Omaha, promote Taylor Clarke

Cameron's demotion wasn't merit-based by any means, as he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ended up going 6 1/3 innings of one-hit ball in his first taste of the big leagues.

The reality is, keeping him on the 26-man roster would mean the Royals would have six starters. Even though Cameron filled in for Ragans, Ragans was never placed on the IL, as the hope is the Royals' ace will be able to make his next scheduled start.

That simply left no room for Cameron at the moment, and the Royals needed to prioritize a bullpen arm to get them through to Ragans' next turn in the order.

To address said bullpen arm, the Royals will turn to a familiar face in Taylor Clarke, after selecting his contract from Omaha in a corresponding move.

Clarke was in the Royals system in both 2022 and 2023, before leaving the organization and spending a year in the Brewers system with Triple-A Nashville. He'd find his way back to Kansas City this offseason, after inking a minor league deal back in December.

In 10 games out of the Storm Chasers' bullpen this season, Clarke holds a 4.40 ERA, 4.17 FIP, 1.19 WHIP and .222 BAA in 14 1/3 innings of work.

Clarke last appeared in the major leagues in 2023 with the Royals, where pitched in 58 games for them (56 of them in relief) and threw to a 5.95 ERA, but did hold a respectable 9.92 K/9 rate.

In order to make room for Clarke on the 40-man roster, the Royals transferred reliever James McArthur to the 60-day IL. McArthur started the season on the shelf, as he continues to recover from right elbow olecranon surgery.

Kansas City will be in the search for a sweep on Thursday afternoon as they wrap up their midweek three-game set against the Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. CT.