Lively was claimed off waivers by the Royals on Wednesday.
Lively will head straight to the major-league roster, though it's unclear if he'll be a member of the rotation or the bullpen down the stretch. The 26-year-old made 20 starts for the Phillies over the last two seasons, posting a 4.81 ERA. He's been good at avoiding walks, posting just a 7.0 percent walk rate, but he doesn't strike out enough batters (15.2 percent strikeout rate) to be anything more than a back-end starter at best.