Royals need to fill a void at closer with Wade Davis placed on the disabled list

A forearm strain has laid up one of the best relievers in baseball

The Royals on Tuesday placed closer Wade Davis on the disabled list with a forearm strain. The move was made retroactive to July 1. To replace Davis on the active roster, the Royals have called up right-hander Brooks Pounders.

Davis, 30, has pitched to a 1.23 ERA and 2.33 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings this season. Since being moved to the bullpen, Davis has become one of the most dominant relievers in baseball: since the start of the the 2014 season, he put up an ERA of 1.01 (411 ERA+), with only on unearned run allowed, across 170 relief appearances.

In Davis' absence, Kelvin Herrera will likely get the save opportunities for Kansas City, and he's also been dominant throughout much of recent history. Still, the loss of a shutdown reliever like Davis is indeed a blow. Davis previously went on the DL with a forearm strain in July of 2011 as a member of the Rays. Since then, though, he's avoided any serious arm trouble. Davis has, however, been showing inconsistent velocity this season.

On lesser fronts, the loss of Davis likely removes him from consideration for the American League All-Star roster. He deserves a spot on the merits, and his manager, Ned Yost, is also manager of the AL squad. Earlier on Tuesday, this scribe predicted that Davis would indeed be an All-Star for the second straight year.

The obvious upside for the rest of us is that there's now a big-leaguer named Brooks Pounders.