23-year-old left-hander Danny Duffy complained of elbow tightness following his start April 22 against the Blue Jays.

Kansas City’s solution? An MRI and a precautionary DL stint? It is the team’s youngest starter and a big part of the organization’s future we’re dealing with here.

Nope, the Royals had him skip one start. No tests were scheduled. After Duffy threw a bullpen session without complaint on April 29, he was cleared to pitch May 3.

Duffy made it through that outing and one more. On May 8, he threw 102 pitches in just 4 1/3 innings versus Boston, walking five batters along the way. Five days later, he came out of his outing against the White Sox in the first inning complaining of more elbow soreness.

Only then did the Royals perform the MRI. And now all signs point to him having Tommy John surgery and missing at least the next 12 months.

There’s a very real chance Duffy was going down this path anyway. Still, it makes the Royals look incompetent that it happened the way it did. With so many good reasons to be proactive, the Royals sent Duffy right back to the mound. And now he’s probably not going to be a real asset for them until 2014, if ever.