Royals demote Alex Gordon to the minor leagues - MLB

alex gordon headshot royals.jpg Unsurprisingly, the Royals made the decision Sunday to option former starting third baseman Alex Gordon to Triple-A Omaha.

Gordon spent the first two weeks of the 2010 season on the disabled list and hit just .194 with a .323 slugging percentage in 31 at-bats once he regained his health. All the while, Alberto Callaspo has jumped out to a hot start and has rightfully earned the Royals’ starting third base gig. Perhaps Gordon, 26, will find his stroke down in Triple-A and return to the big leagues as a useful utility player. Or maybe not. Big-time busts are far from a rarity in the baseball world.

Gordon, as some may remember, was the second overall pick in baseball’s first-year player draft back in 2005. Justin Upton was selected at No. 1 by the Diamondbacks.

The Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain that will sideline the left-hander for at least two starts.

The move is retroactive to Monday and Cortes will be shut down for at least 15 days.

After Tuesday’s game, Cortes said the shoulder has been bothering him between starts and more so after he pitched five innings May 30 in Seattle.

“I took two days off and when I got to LA and threw that first day, I didn’t feel right,” Cortes said Tuesday. “But it was first day coming back from pitching so I knew it was going to be nagging a little bit. So I waited a little bit.

“That second day in LA was when I said something because it felt like I had pitched yesterday. So I wasn’t recovering in time.”

Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.

Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.

Randy Vásquez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to take Cortes’ spot in the rotation and will make his second career start in Thursday’s doubleheader. Vásquez made his major league debut May 26 against San Diego when the Yankees needed a starter because Domingo Germán was serving a 10-game suspension for using sticky substances.