FanPost

Several KC player moves and maybe some things to think about in August

Several player moves by the Royals yesterday:

Kansas City Royals
Placed OF Reggie Sanders on the 15-day disabled list with a tear in his left hamstring; placed LHP Jorge De La Rosa on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left elbow; recalled OF Joey Gathright and RHP Ryan Braun from Triple-A Omaha; activated 1B Ryan Shealy from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Omaha.

Should we put a fork in Reggie?  Then take it out while it is still warm and spear Sweeny?  Will either of these guys play for the Royals next year?

De la Rosa's injury is out of the blue.  Is there a story there?  Maybe Bell thought Rosa needed a few weeks of rest?  Is this just an easy way to get both Davies and Nunez into the rotation for a few weeks?  When De la Rosa comes back, will Odalis still be in Royal's blue?

Gathright is up and down all year.  Do the Royals see him as their 4th or 5th outfielder now?  If so, does that put a fork in Costa?  Will Huber get any MLB time this year?  Jason Smith?  Why Smith instead of Huber?  Why does Smith have a spot on the team?

Braun up and down all year also.  He is fine but I just don't seem to care too much if he is or is not on the roster at any given time.  Seems to be a feel-good garbage man story.  A poor man's version of Joe Nelson.

~ And the big one, Shealy to Omaha rather than back on the MLB roster.  Is this smart?  Will it light a fire, or screw him up?  Will he become Teahenesque a la 2006 when they bring him back in a few weeks?  Thoughts of Huber come up again. ~

Before the season ends, here are a few dangling player stories to think about:

Luke Hudson: surprising that he has been out all year.  Will he see any time in the last two months?  We were counting on him for 120-170 innings this year and 8 to 10 wins.  Amazing that the complete absence of the best SP from last year's rotation has been so little noticed this year.  Moore has done an amazing job adding pitching depth to the organization.

Adding to the Hudson story, the Royals best reliever of last year may have been Joe Nelson.   Like Hudson, Nelson has also been out all year.  He is also a name that never comes up in Royals discussions.  The staff "ace" and "closer" from last year both missed all of 2007 and this story has generated very little ink (or pixels).  I attribute this to Moore's ability to add depth to KC and Omaha's pitching staffs.  Losses can now be sustained.  This was never the case during the Baird years.  There was no margin for injury and poor performance, both of which are inevitable factors in baseball.

Will Ducky be back and contribute further?  I'd like that.

Stories that turned out to be non-stories - a few names that were thrown around in spring who have never played a role on the team:

Matt Wright
Tyler Lumsden
Ken Ray
Mitch Maier
Chris Lubanski
Zack Day

Who is Craig Brazell and should we start talking about him?  He is listed as Omaha's DH right now and has great numbers.  429 minor league at bats, .324/.359/.611.  32 HR and 75 RBIs.  Age 27, a bit long in the tooth, but damn! those numbers are better than Butler's minor league numbers.

Another surprise in the high minors, Jorge Padilla.  351 at bats in AA and AAA, .322/.393/.493.  13 Homeruns, 12 stolen bases.  38/47 BB/K ratio.  Also 27 years old.

Summary, it is so nice to have roster pressure.  The Royals actual have an organization where players are pushing each other for MLB time, not just being given it due to lack of better options.  There are only two guys in the organization at this time who I think are being given a free ride, Lumsden and Hochevar.  If this were 2005 I expect one of those two would have already spent time in KC by this point in the season.  Everything is better now.  Hope.

This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.