Royals wasted the opportunity to reshape bullpen amid Cole Ragans activation

The Kansas City Royals knew that a roster crunch was in the forecast this week, with Michael Wacha and Cole Ragans returning to the active roster from the IL.

On Tuesday, they took the opportunity to make some necessary trims to the bench by optioning struggling utility man Nick Loftin to Triple-A to make room for Wacha.

Now, when Ragans was slated to return on Wednesday, the likelihood that the Royals shifted their focus to the bullpen for the corresponding move was high, and there were multiple names KC could have demoted that would work to reshape and revitalize the bullpen.

Instead, however the Royals took the logistically easy but logically baffling route of optioning prospect Luinder Avila to Triple-A in a corresponding move for Ragans' activation.

Royals make head-scratching move optioning Luinder Avila to Triple-A

As touched on already, Avila's option to the minors comes as a bit of a shock, as the rookie has looked nothing short of spectacular since arriving in The Show.

In 9.1 innings across eight outings, Avila had tossed to a 0.96 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and .121 BAA, strengthening his case to become a key fixture in the Royals' 2026 plans after each outing.

But rather than give the 24-year-old some more valuable exposure in the majors, the Royals sent him packing yet again. And frankly it didn't need to be this way, as there were multiple names that seemed more poised to get the boot than Avila.

Sam Long may be righting some wrongs of late after a dreadful start to the season, but the fact remains that this is a near-5.00 ERA arm with a WHIP approaching 1.70 and a BAA against over .280.

With the Royals all but out of the postseason mix, they must ask themselves if Long is an arm that they envision pitching out of their 'pen next season. And if the answer is no, then they should just rip the band-aid off now, delay the inevitable and DFA him to give more run to the names they wish to be involved beyond 2025.

While Long's lack of options and left-handedness may've been two key reasons as to why he wasn't the odd man out in this equation, Jonathan Bowlan does not have those same factors working in his favor.

He hasn't been a stranger to taxiing between Kansas City and Omaha this season, and his recent form has not been spectacular in the slightest, surrendering five earned runs off eight hits in 4.0 innings of work across his last three outings. This has brought his ERA north of 4.00 (4.35), and his WHIP up to 1.25.

Now, I'm not saying Bowlan can't play a role on this Royals squad moving forward, but it shouldn't take rocket science to think that a top 30 prospect like Avila would get the priority over the likes a more depth-style arm like Bowlan when planning for the future.

With less and less to play for after each loss and added game to the Wild Card deficit, the Royals had the chance to really test things out and get a jump on evaluating for next year.

And even if the Royals are still buying into the fever dream of making a push for the postseason, taking GM J.J. Picollo's comments ahead of Monday's game to heart, Avila's recent performance arguably gives them a better chance to win than either Long or Bowlan do.

No matter how you look at it, this move seems like a misstep from the Royals, adding to what's already been an extremely frustrating season all around.