Kansas City Royals

Seth Maness made a bit of history when he pitched an inning of relief May 13, allowing one run against the Baltimore Orioles.

The 28-year-old right-hander became the first pitcher to appear in a major league game after having primary repair surgery on his elbow. Maness had the procedure Aug. 18.

Primary repair surgery buttresses a torn ligament and is less invasive than the more common Tommy John elbow surgery, in which a tendon is harvested from another part of body and used to reconstruct the ligament.

While the normal recovery period for Tommy John surgery is 12 to 15 months, Maness was back on a major league mound in less than nine months and after three relief appearances with Class AAA Omaha (Papillion, Neb.).

Maness signed with the Royals in the offseason after spending his first four major league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Veteran right-hander Al

Alburquerque was called up from Omaha along with Maness to fortify a leaky bullpen. The 30-year-old made 241 appearances for the Detroit Tigers from 2011 to 2015 but only pitched in two major league games last season with the Los Angeles Angels.

Infielder Cristian Colon was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. The Royals selected Colon fourth overall in the 2010 draft.

“I keep pitching until Brad tells me I’m done, and sometimes I’ll try and avoid him. The deeper the starter can go, the better chances you have of being on the right side of the scoreboard.” Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer, on his attitude about giving extra effort for manager Brad Ausmus