Hochevar To The Bullpen

According to the official Twitter of the Royals (Seriously. They are on Twitter. Who knew?) Ned Yost announced this morning that Luke Hochevar would pitch out of the bullpen at the start of the season.

I characterize this move as "semi-bold" because the bold (and correct) move would have been to release him outright. Or to not have tendered the contract in the first place. There's still an outside chance that with another couple of poor spring outings, the Royals can release him. If they release him before Opening Day, they owe him a quarter of his $4.56 million. Hey, every little bit helps.

Of course, they could trade him. Hahahaha. Sorry.

This provides some clarity in the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Bruce Chen and Luis Mendoza are probably the front runners, but Will Smith has opened some eyes. The Royals official twitter throws Yordano Ventura's name out as a possibility, but that seems really far-fetched. Yes, he's been dominant this spring, but he still needs some seasoning.

In other roster moves, the Royals release Guillermo Moscoso this morning. This opens a spot on the 40-man roster. I figure another spot will be open when they move Danny Duffy to the 60-day DL.