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Spring training begins this week and the Royals will have 65 players in camp vying for the 25 roster spots the Royals will carry for the season opener on April 3.
Here are the 33 position players and 32 pitchers the Royals will have in big league camp when they begin their first full squad work out on February 17.
For "2016 Club", OMA means Omaha (AAA), NWA means Northwest Arkansas (AA), WIL means Wilmington (High A), LEX means Lexington (Low A), and ASL means Arizona Summer League.
Position Players
| # | Name | B/T | DOB | 40-man? | 2016 Club | |
| IF | Arteaga, Humberto | R/R | 1/23/1994 | No | WIL/NWA | |
| The 23-year old utility infielder hasn't hit much at all in the minors with a .585 career OPS. | ||||||
| 38 | OF | Bonifacio, Jorge | R/R | 6/4/1993 | Yes | OMA |
| Had a huge home/road split with 14 of his 19 home runs coming in Omaha's Werner Park. | ||||||
| 14 | OF | Burns, Billy | S/R | 8/30/1989 | Yes | Nashville/Oakland/OMA/KC |
| The mantis caretaker has plus speed, but with one more option year may start in minors. | ||||||
| 9 | C | Butera, Drew | R/R | 8/9/1983 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Will serve as the backup catcher after having a career year offensively and signing a two-year deal. | ||||||
| 6 | OF | Cain, Lorenzo | R/R | 4/13/1986 | Yes | Kansas City |
| The starting centerfielder played just 103 games last year, lowest since 2012. | ||||||
| IF | Cecchini, Garin | L/R | 4/20/1991 | No | Colorado Springs (COL) | |
| Former top 100 prospect with the Red Sox can play first base, third base, and left field. | ||||||
| 24 | IF | Colon, Christian | R/R | 5/14/1989 | Yes | OMA/Kansas City |
| Post-season hero is out of options, and will need to make the club as a utility infielder. | ||||||
| 19 | IF | Cuthbert, Cheslor | R/R | 11/16/1992 | Yes | OMA/Kansas City |
| Impressed with a 93 OPS+ at age 23, but is out of options with an unclear role on MLB roster. | ||||||
| 60 | OF | Dozier, Hunter | R/R | 8/22/1991 | Yes | NWA/OMA |
| Was the organization's top hitting prospect last year after a disastrous 2015 season. | ||||||
| 1B | Duenez, Samir | L/R | 6/11/1996 | Yes | LEX/WIL/NWA | |
| Signed for a big bonus but hadn't shown much offensively until last year. | ||||||
| OF | Escalera, Alfredo | R/R | 2/17/1995 | No | WIL/NWA | |
| Young raw outfielder hasn't developed offensively yet, but shows good speed. | ||||||
| 2 | SS | Escobar, Alcides | R/R | 12/16/1986 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Former Gold Glove shortstop saw his defensive metrics decline in 2016. | ||||||
| C | Evans, Zane | R/R | 11/29/1991 | No | BUR/NWA/OMA | |
| Good defender but hasn't hit much and is in camp to give pitchers someone to throw to. | ||||||
| C | Fernandez, Xavier | R/R | 7/15/1995 | No | LEX | |
| Hasn't made prospect lists, but the Puerto Rican-born Fernandez has hit at every level. | ||||||
| — | C | Gallagher, Cam | R/R | 12/6/1992 | Yes | NWA |
| Good defender that was added to the 40-man roster last winter, but bat still lags behind. | ||||||
| 4 | OF | Gordon, Alex | L/R | 2/10/1984 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Starting left-fielder will look to bounce back after career-worst numbers offensively. | ||||||
| 0 | OF | Gore, Terrance | R/R | 6/8/1991 | Yes | NWA/Kansas City |
| Can he make the big leagues on speed alone? The speedster stole 55 bases in AA and MLB last year. | ||||||
| 35 | 1B | Hosmer, Eric | L/L | 10/24/1989 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Last year's All-Star Game MVP will look for a big contract year heading into free agency. | ||||||
| 15 | IF | Merrifield, Whit | R/R | 1/24/1989 | Yes | OMA/Kansas City |
| Merrifield impressed in his rookie season and will challenge for the starting second base job. | ||||||
| 27 | IF | Mondesi, Raul | S/R | 7/27/1995 | Yes | WIL/NWA/OMA/KC |
| Mondesi has loads of potential but seemed overwhelmed in the big leagues last year. | ||||||
| C | Morin, Parker | L/R | 7/2/1991 | No | OMA | |
| Followed up a career year in 2015 with a disastrous season in 2016, hitting just .185. | ||||||
| 37 | OF | Moss, Brandon | L/R | 9/16/1983 | Yes | St. Louis |
| Free agent slugger was fifth in baseball in average distance on balls hit and should serve as DH. | ||||||
| 8 | 3B | Moustakas, Mike | L/R | 9/11/1988 | Yes | Kansas City |
| All-Star third baseman will try to bounce back from ACL injury that cost him over four months. | ||||||
| — | OF | O'Brien, Peter | R/R | 7/15/1990 | Yes | Reno/Arizona |
| Has hit 84 home runs in the minors over the last three seasons, but struggles defensively. | ||||||
| 1B | O'Hearn, Ryan | L/L | 7/26/1993 | No | WIL/NWA | |
| One of the best power hitters in the Royals system, but struck out 158 times last year. | ||||||
| 16 | OF | Orlando, Paulo | R/R | 11/1/1985 | Yes | Kansas City |
| The Brazilian hit .302 last year, but slumped late in the year and will serve as a fourth outfielder. | ||||||
| C | Pena, Brayan | S/R | 1/7/1982 | No | Memphis/St. Louis | |
| Former Royals catcher was brought back on a minor league deal to serve as depth. | ||||||
| 13 | C | Perez, Salvador | R/R | 5/10/1990 | Yes | Kansas City |
| The All-Star has caught 440 regular season and post-season games over the last three seasons. | ||||||
| 12 | OF | Soler, Jorge | R/R | 2/25/1992 | Yes | Tenn./Iowa/Chi.Cubs |
| Power hitter acquired for Wade Davis has hit 27 HR in 211 career MLB games. | ||||||
| OF | Starling, Bubba | R/R | 8/3/1992 | Yes | NWA/OMA | |
| Former first round pick continued his offensive struggles last season, hitting just .183. | ||||||
| 62 | IF | Torres, Ramon | S/R | 1/22/1993 | Yes | NWA/OMA |
| Switch-hitting infielder has shown some promise, but his bat was underwhelming last season. | ||||||
| 2B | Toups, Corey | R/R | 2/12/1993 | No | WIL/NWA | |
| Can play some shortstop as well and shows good power for a middle infielder. | ||||||
| C | Vallot, Chase | R/R | 8/21/1996 | No | ASL/LEX | |
| Shows tremendous power potential, but needs to cut down on strikeouts and improve defense. | ||||||
Pitchers
| # | Name | B/T | DOB | 40-man? | 2016 Club | |
| Catchers | P | Alburquerque, Al | R/R | 6/10/1986 | No | Tacoma/Salt Lake/LA Angels |
| Former Tigers reliever shows a plus slider, but has trouble throwing strikes at times. | ||||||
| 54 | P | Alexander, Scott | L/L | 7/10/1989 | Yes | OMA/Kansas City |
| Lefty reliever has performed well in limited big league action, but could be a numbers casualty | ||||||
| 50 | P | Almonte, Miguel | R/R | 4/4/1993 | Yes | NWA/OMA |
| Power arm still has lots of potential, but took a big step back last year, getting demoted a level. | ||||||
| P | Caramo, Yender | R/R | 8/25/1991 | No | NWA/OMA | |
| The Venezuelan performed well last year and can throw strikes, but doesn't strike out a lot of hitters. | ||||||
| P | Culver, Malcom | R/R | 2/9/1990 | No | OMA | |
| Too old to be a prospect, but showed signs he could be a useful reliever last year. | ||||||
| 41 | P | Duffy, Danny | L/L | 12/21/1988 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Took a huge step forward last year and will be expected to anchor rotation after signing a five-year deal. | ||||||
| P | Dziedzic, Jonathan | R/L | 2/4/1991 | No | OMA | |
| Lefty shows some promise, but needs to sharpen command of the strike zone. | ||||||
| P | Edwards, Andrew | R/R | 10/7/1991 | Yes | NWA/OMA | |
| Throws hard and was a AAA All-Star, but struggled late in the year and needs to throw more strikes. | ||||||
| P | Farrell, Luke | R/R | 6/7/1991 | No | ASL/OMA | |
| Son of the Red Sox manager, overcame cancer to become a fringe pitching prospect. | ||||||
| 33 | P | Flynn, Brian | L/L | 4/19/1990 | Yes | OMA/Kansas City |
| Versatile lefty impressed with the Royals last year and could be a solid bullpen option. | ||||||
| 39 | P | Hammel, Jason | R/R | 9/2/1982 | Yes | Chi. Cubs |
| Solid mid-rotation option signed to a good deal, but has never thrown 180 innings in a season. | ||||||
| 40 | P | Herrera, Kelvin | R/R | 12/31/1989 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Will take over closer duties after saving 12 games last year while Wade Davis was out. | ||||||
| P | Junis, Jake | R/R | 9/16/1992 | Yes | NWA/OMA | |
| A strike-thrower who has performed well at each level and could be a back-end rotation option soon. | ||||||
| P | Karns, Nathan | R/R | 11/25/1987 | Yes | Seattle | |
| Acquired from the Mariners for Jarrod Dyson, he can miss bats but has trouble going deep in games. | ||||||
| 31 | P | Kennedy, Ian | R/R | 12/19/1984 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Had a 2.66 ERA over his last 13 starts and will be the #2 pitcher in the rotation. | ||||||
| P | League, Brandon | R/R | 3/16/1983 | No | Did not play. | |
| Sinkerballer saved 37 games for the Blue Jays in 2011, but missed last year with a shoulder injury. | ||||||
| P | Maness, Seth | R/R | 10/14/1988 | No | St. Louis | |
| Solid reliever with St. Louis suffered an elbow injury but avoided Tommy John surgery with experimental procedure. | ||||||
| 61 | P | McCarthy, Kevin | R/R | 2/22/1992 | Yes | NWA/OMA |
| Could be a useful reliever with a shot to make this team, although he has very little MLB experience. | ||||||
| 66 | P | Minor, Mike | R/L | 12/26/1987 | Yes | OMA |
| Last pitched in a big league game in 2014 due to labrum surgery, suffered setbacks in rehab last year. | ||||||
| P | Parnell, Bobby | R/R | 9/8/1984 | No | Toledo/Detroit | |
| Former Mets closer hasn't been the same since Tommy John surgery in 2014. | ||||||
| P | Puckett, A.J. | R/R | 5/27/1995 | No | ASL/LEX | |
| Royals second-round pick in 2016, could be a fast riser through the system. | ||||||
| P | Sanchez, Jonathan | L/L | 11/19/1982 | No | Did not play. | |
| Was a disaster for the Royals in 2012, and hasn't pitched in affiliated ball since 2014. | ||||||
| P | Skoglund, Eric | L/L | 10/26/1992 | No | NWA | |
| Under-the-radar prospect who has performed well at each level and could help rotation later this year. | ||||||
| 48 | P | Soria, Joakim | R/R | 5/18/1984 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Will try to put 2016 struggles behind him with two years left on his contract. | ||||||
| P | Staumont, Josh | R/R | 12/21/1993 | No | WIL/NWA | |
| Dark horse candidate for the bullpen with his 100 mph fastball if he can find the strike zone. | ||||||
| P | Stout, Eric | L/L | 3/27/1993 | No | NWA | |
| Performed well in Arizona Fall League and could be a lefty bullpen candidate. | ||||||
| 64 | P | Strahm, Matt | R/L | 11/12/1991 | Yes | NWA/Kansas City |
| Was sensational in the bullpen last year, but club sees him as a starting pitcher long-term. | ||||||
| 51 | P | Vargas, Jason | L/L | 2/2/1983 | Yes | NWA/OMA/Kansas City |
| Will try to pitch his first full season since Tommy John surgery in 2015. | ||||||
| P | Withrow, Chris | R/R | 4/1/1989 | No | Rome/Gwinnett/Atlanta | |
| Former first round pick was useful in Braves pen last year, but poor strikeout and walk numbers. | ||||||
| P | Travis Wood | R/L | 2/6/1987 | Yes | Chi. Cubs | |
| Lefty could compete for fifth starter, but lefties hit just .128 against him as a reliever last year. | ||||||
| 32 | P | Young, Chris | R/R | 5/25/1979 | Yes | Kansas City |
| Gave up 28 home runs in just 88 2/3 innings, but will try to win back a rotation spot. | ||||||
| 45 | P | Zimmer, Kyle | R/R | 9/13/1991 | Yes | WIL/NWA |
| The best stuff in the organization, but has pitched just 74 1/3 innings over the past three years. | ||||||