Former Northwest Arkansas Naturals' right-hander Carlos Rosa's stay with Triple-A Omaha lasted only 30 days.The Kansas City Royals have recalled Rosa from the O-Royals, it was announced on Thursday. The 23-year old Dominican Republic native posted a 4-2 record and allowed just 30 hits in 45 innings with the Naturals in his eight starts prior to his May 12th promotion to Triple-A. His 1.20 ERA led the Texas League at the time of his promotion, and the rest of the league batted just .189 against Rosa. He was particularly dominant at Arvest Ballpark, coming within nine outs of throwing a no-hitter on April 25th against the Arkansas Travelers. In that outing Rosa allowed just one hit in eight innings.
With the O-Royals, Rosa was 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA in five starts but has gotten progressively better with every outing. In his most recent start last Saturday, Rosa threw four perfect innings against the Iowa Cubs.
Rosa will work in the Royals bullpen, where he will fill the spot of veteran right-hander Brett Tomko, who was designated for assignment after being rocked by the Texas Rangers in the ninth inning of an 11-5 loss on Wednesday night. The Royals now have ten days to trade Tomko, release him outright, place him on waivers, or attempt re-assign him to the minor leagues. Tomko began the season in the Royals rotation before being demoted to bullpen duty last month.
When asked about how Rosa will be used, Royals Manager Trey Hillman stated: "Get outs when we give him the ball because we've had trouble doing that with the exception of three or four guys."
Rosa ultimately becomes the second Natural to get the call to Kansas City, joining fellow bullpen righty Jeff Fulchino, who was recalled Sunday. Rosa does, however, take the distinction of being the first Natural who has played at Arvest Ballpark to earn the call, as Fulchino's two appearances for Northwest Arkansas both came during the season-opening road trip.
"There's some deceptiveness to go with the ball jumping out of his hand," Royals' Manager Trey Hillman said of Rosa. "I like the way he spins the ball. He threw strikes with it at Spring Training. The other thing that sticks out is he wasn't afraid to pitch inside."
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The Naturals have a toll-free ticket hotline (1-877-444-2637) for fans to purchase Naturals tickets. Our website also offers fans the opportunity to purchase tickets online and avoid lines at the ticket windows by printing their tickets at home or at the office.
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