Kansas City, Mo. ? The Royals have selected the contract of right-hander Anthony Lerew from Double-A Northwest Arkansas and activated righty Juan Cruz from the disabled list.

The Royals also placed left-hander Bruce Chen on the 60-day disabled list due to a torn left oblique muscle.

The 26-year-old Lerew was called up to start tonight against Boston with Kyle Davies (shoulder) and Dusty Hughes (elbow) still not healthy enough to pitch. Lerew was 10-6 with a 4.09 earned-run average in 27 starts for the Naturals.

Cruz has been out since Aug. 6 with a shoulder strain. He’s 3-4 with a 6.17 ERA and is expected to be available for Thursday’s game.

Chen was 1-6 with a 5.78 ERA in 17 games, including nine starts.