With infielders dropping like flies, Dayton Moore looked to shore up his depth by acquiring infielder Emilio Bonifacio from Toronto today in exchange for cash or a player to be named later (what if its the same player to be named later that Minnesota wants in the Jamey Carroll deal???? CLUBHOUSE CONFUSION!) Bonifacio will replace Miguel Tejada on the 40 man roster, as Tejada was placed on the 60 day disabled list, effectively ending his season. The Royals will make a corresponding 25 man roster move when Bonifacio reports with the club tomorrow.
Emilio, 28, is the older brother of Royals outfield prospect Jorge Bonifacio. He is in his sixth full season in the big leagues and is a career .261/.319/.340 hitter for the Diamondbacks, Nationals, Marlins, and Blue Jays. He has terrific speed, once stealing 40 bases for the Marlins. He has decent plate discipline but almost no power despite a lot of strikeouts. His best season came in 2011 with the Marlins when he hit .296/.360/.393 with 2.7 WAR. This year he has struggled mightily at the plate with a line of .218/.258/.321 in 282 plate appearances, although he has hit .273/.344/.382 in 61 plate appearances since the start of July.
Bonifacio offers great positional flexibility as he has played every position except pitcher, catcher, and first base. He has spent most of his time at second base this year, but can also play third base and the outfield adequately and can even fill in at shortstop in a pinch.
Bonifacio earns less than a million dollars for the rest of the year and is arbitration-eligible this winter. He will not be a free agent until 2015.
The Royals were getting awfully thin in the infield, and the Royals have no infielders in Omaha that could be called up to help out. None. I can't think of a single one. Or two even. Possibly three.
Emilio, 28, is the older brother of Royals outfield prospect Jorge Bonifacio. He is in his sixth full season in the big leagues and is a career .261/.319/.340 hitter for the Diamondbacks, Nationals, Marlins, and Blue Jays. He has terrific speed, once stealing 40 bases for the Marlins. He has decent plate discipline but almost no power despite a lot of strikeouts. His best season came in 2011 with the Marlins when he hit .296/.360/.393 with 2.7 WAR. This year he has struggled mightily at the plate with a line of .218/.258/.321 in 282 plate appearances, although he has hit .273/.344/.382 in 61 plate appearances since the start of July.
Bonifacio offers great positional flexibility as he has played every position except pitcher, catcher, and first base. He has spent most of his time at second base this year, but can also play third base and the outfield adequately and can even fill in at shortstop in a pinch.
Bonifacio earns less than a million dollars for the rest of the year and is arbitration-eligible this winter. He will not be a free agent until 2015.
The Royals were getting awfully thin in the infield, and the Royals have no infielders in Omaha that could be called up to help out. None. I can't think of a single one. Or two even. Possibly three.