Royals' left-hander Jason Vargas will require Tommy John surgery after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, according to a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. Vargas will miss the rest of this season and is likely to miss the entire 2016 season.
Vargas, 32, made only nine starts for the Royals this season, posting a 3.98 ERA in that span. His absence will cause the team to recall struggling righty Yordano Ventura from Triple-A despite optioning him in a surprising move just one day ago. Kansas City is currently working with a rotation of Edinson Volquez, Chris Young, Danny Duffy and Jeremy Guthrie in front of Ventura, though struggles from the group have forced the team to explore the trade market. Vargas' injury will almost definitely increase their aggressiveness on the trade market in the next eight days.
The Royals have been linked to Reds' top starter Johnny Cueto but could also make a move for Mike Leake or look to the Padres' group of Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and Ian Kennedy as they scour the the pitching market. Yovani Gallardo (Rangers) and David Price (Tigers) are among the other potentially-available names in advance of next Friday's trade deadline.