Long placed on IL (elbow inflammation); Sisk recalled from Triple-A

CLEVELAND -- In another shift to the Royals’ bullpen, lefty Sam Long was placed on the 15-day IL on Sunday with left elbow inflammation. The move comes a day after the reliever gave up another three runs (two earned) in Saturday night’s loss which inflated his ERA to 12.86 across seven appearances this season.

In a corresponding move, lefty Evan Sisk was recalled from Triple-A Omaha and joined the Royals in Cleveland. The 27-year-old Sisk was added to the 40-man roster this offseason and will make his Major League debut in his first appearance out of the bullpen.

Long, 29, was a key part of the Royals’ bullpen last year, posting a 3.16 ERA from when he was called up last May to the end of the season. He gave up one run in four innings in the postseason last year and entered the 2025 season as one of the club’s lefty weapons for mid- to high-leverage situations.

But it hasn’t gone well to begin the year, with Long allowing 12 runs (10 earned) in seven innings, with five walks (one intentional) and six strikeouts.

“I’ve been pitching through [soreness] for a little bit, and just hoping that it’s part of my arm getting into shape,” Long said Sunday morning. “It’s just not bouncing back as quickly as I’d like. I felt the need to get it checked out and make sure there’s nothing that’s preventing it from recovering.”

Long will head back to Kansas City on Sunday and will be evaluated by the Royals’ medical team there to determine the severity of the inflammation and the next steps in his recovery.

“I mean, you saw him fighting himself on the mound, but we also saw glimpses of good stuff, too, good sliders, he threw a couple of good breaking balls,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “... And his command was a little bit off. In fairness to him, early in the season, some cold weather too. You don’t know exactly what’s going on with guys. He wasn’t bouncing back in his own estimation, so it was good to get him looked at.”

Long had a wonky start to his spring, knocked down by the flu early on in camp and then getting hit in the hand by a line drive at the beginning of March. He said he has felt like he’s been playing “catch up” since then, and when he felt more soreness than typical, he hoped it was just part of his arm getting back in shape.

But by Saturday night, he knew that wasn’t a sustainable plan.

“It’s gotten in the way, where I’m so focused on getting the arm ready to throw, where the focus is not on executing or figuring out how to approach the at-bat,” Long said. “It’s getting in the way of preparing. I think that’s the biggest thing. When I can’t prepare to the best of my ability -- I need to be able to do that to compete at this level.”

In the span of three days, the Royals have placed two relievers on the IL with Long and righty Hunter Harvey, who is dealing with a Grade 1 right teres major strain.

But that has given opportunities now to two relievers the Royals acquired back in 2023 when they traded Michael A. Taylor to the Twins. Righty Steven Cruz joined the club on Friday, and Sisk came on Sunday. Sisk hasn’t allowed a run in 4 2/3 innings in Omaha this year following a 2024 season in which he posted a 1.57 ERA across 58 appearances.

The lefty throws from a low three-quarters slot and has a funky delivery, giving his stuff a ton of deception, especially against left-handed batters.

“We’re going to have to see how games unfold,” Quatraro said. “Clearly we know he’s tough on lefties, and we’re going to try to find spots to give him a good place to land. But depending on how games unfold over the next few days, he’s going to get in there and it could be mid- to high-leverage situations.”