to the Royals on August 21. He made his first appearance since returning from the DL on August 22, but he did not get another save until September 1 in a 1–0 victory over the Tigers. He picked up four more saves to finish the year with a career–high 13 saves and a 4.95 ERA. 2005 In 2005, Affeldt was again expected to be the Royals' closer. However, he did not get a save opportunity until April 16 against Detroit, and he was unable to finish that game because of a groin injury that landed him on the disabled list again. After rehabbing in Omaha, Affeldt returned to the Royals on June 4. He was no longer the closer, however, because Mike MacDougal had been closing well in his absence. Affeldt was not healthy for long, as he returned to the disabled list on June 20 after reaggravating the groin injury. Affeldt returned to the Royals on July 7. Through July 27, he had a 2.18 ERA. He did not give up more than one earned run until August 5, when he got his first loss of the year against the Oakland Athletics. However, Affeldt had a 12.71 ERA in his next eighteen appearances, which raised his ERA to 6.93. He held opposing batters scoreless for the final nine games of the season to bring it down to a season–ending 5.26. 2006 Affeldt returned to Kansas City's starting rotation in 2006 when he was named the fourth starter during Spring training. However, he was moved up to the third spot before the season began when Runelvys Hernández was demoted to the fifth spot. Affeldt struggled as a starter, going 2–5 with a 7.80 ERA in nine starts. His final major league start came on May 27 against the New York Yankees. He gave up ten runs on eleven hits in a 15–4 loss. After the start, he was sent to the bullpen, and Bobby Keppel filled his place in the starting rotation. Affeldt improved in the bullpen, posting a 2.91 ERA there through July 31. Years later, reflecting on his tenure with the Royals, Affeldt said, "I was pretty frustrated. I wanted to quit. I didn't want to go to the ballpark. I was just failing a lot. I was getting hurt. I didn't understand my role. I bounced around and I just didn't enjoy the game." At the trade