The Royals aren't listing Lopez as one of their starting pitchers for the four-game series with the Rangers that begins Thursday, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.
Kansas City has confirmed six of its seven probable starters for the week, with the lone vacancy coming Wednesday in Chicago against the White Sox. Unless they're comfortable deploying Lopez on three days' rest with a limited pitch count, the Royals look poised to make a change with their fifth starter. If Lopez is in fact demoted to the bullpen or to Triple-A Omaha, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise given that he's posted a 6.79 ERA and 1.57 WHIP across 51.2 frames this season. Long reliever Glenn Sparkman would likely represent the top candidate to replace Lopez in the rotation if a change is made.