Royals' Vargas shelved by appendectomy

Published February 05, 2015

St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Kansas City Royals announced that starting pitcher Jason Vargas underwent an emergency appendectomy Wednesday that will sideline him for at least two weeks.

The Royals placed Vargas, who fell ill in the team's hotel after pitching Tuesday's game against Tampa Bay, on the 15-day disabled list prior to Thursday's matchup with the Detroit Tigers.

It's a tough break for both Vargas and Kansas City, as the offseason addition had been one of the most reliable hurlers for the American League Central contenders this year. Vargas leads the Royals with 14 quality starts and has produced a solid 3.31 earned run average while going 8-4 over 19 overall outings.

Bruce Chen is expected to fill in for Vargas' scheduled start Sunday against Detroit, while the Royals recalled reliever Louis Coleman from Triple-A Omaha to take the available roster spot.

Coleman struggled in 18 games for Kansas City earlier this season, posting a 6.41 ERA and allowing five home runs in 19 2/3 innings.

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