Yordano Ventura Recalled from Triple-A 1 Day After Demotion

One day after being sent to the minors, Yordano Ventura is back with the Kansas City Royals. The team announced Wednesday that Ventura was recalled to the majors when Jason Vargas was placed back on the disabled list with a torn UCL.

After a rookie season that saw him go 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 159 strikeouts in 183.0 innings pitched—he also went 1-0 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 14 strikeouts in the postseason—Ventura was named the team's Opening Day starter this season.

He hasn't lived up to that honor, however, going 4-7 with a 5.19 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 76.1 innings pitched.

And manager Ned Yost thinks his problems this season are pretty simple to identify.

“Mostly his issues deal with command,” Yost said after Ventura allowed six runs, 10 hits and a walk in four innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, per Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star. “He’s behind in the count, and then he tries to overpower pitches over the plate. And big league hitters can handle that.”   

"But we are counting on him down the stretch. We need him," Yost said, via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com.

Given his excellent 2014 campaign, many teams may have given Ventura the opportunity to ride out his struggles in the rotation. But the Royals have the best record and are chasing a World Series title, and McCullough thinks this move signals their intent to win above all else:

The Royals will be hoping he can turn things around in time for the postseason, when a pitcher of his caliber would certainly come in handy for a team looking to claim a ring this season.