Kansas City Royals Rumors

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Brewers, Green, Sellers, Astros, Byrd, Vizquel, A's

Some more links as the weekend begins... Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun notes that the Orioles didn't make any contract offers on the first day of free agency. The Brewers have signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Santo Aybar, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Baseball America rated Santo the 18th best Dominican prospect this year. Nick Green doesn't expect to back with the Red Sox, according to Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Marlins, Royals, Tigers and Reds are currently baseball's most active sellers. The Astros signed minor league free agent Jose Valdez, according to...   Continue Reading

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Royals Sign Jorge Campillo

The Royals signed righty Jorge Campillo to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Campillo was limited to 9.3 pro innings in the Braves organization this year due to shoulder issues, and elected free agency a month ago. In 2008 he logged 158.6 innings with a 3.91 ERA, making 25 starts.   Continue Reading

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Royals Agree To Sign Brad Thompson

12:25pm: The Royals confirmed, via press release, that they agreed to sign Thompson to a minor league deal. 11:13am: The Royals have agreed to a one-year deal with righty Brad Thompson, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 27-year-old allowed 85 hits and 23 walks in 80 innings for the Cardinals last year, striking out 34 for a 4.84 ERA. He has had good control throughout his career, but his average fastball clocks in at just 87mph, which presumably prevents him from striking more hitters out. Thompson doesn't have a guaranteed spot on the team's 40-man roster, but...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Lackey, Phillies, Mets, Greinke

Here's another collection of links... Larry LaRue of The News Tribune writes about why you shouldn't get your hopes up about Seattle landing John Lackey, if you're a Mariners fan. Andy Martino of The Philadephia Inquirer says that it's clear the Phillies want to add a free agent reliever or two, although GM Ruben Amaro said that Scott Eyre "may have priced himself out of our range.” The Mets have to balance two different sets of priorities this offseason, writes Ben Shpigel of The NY Times. As The KC Star's Bob Dutton notes, today's AL Cy Young Award win triggered...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Butler, Holliday, Counsell

A batch of links to kick off the work week... Newly minted Royals Player of the Year Billy Butler has not held long-term extension talks with the team, MLBTR learned on a conference call today. Butler will not be arbitration-eligible until after the 2010 season. Desipio on the Cubs-Curtis Granderson idea: "In the end, this smells like a winter of Brian Roberts and Jake Peavy trade rumors. One that ends with us talking ourselves into how Marlon Byrd isn’t so bad after all." Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes it's a three-horse race for Matt Holliday: the Red Sox,...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Bellorin, Chapman, Cardinals

Links for Friday... Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse takes at Yankees prospects who could draw attention in trade talks. The Royals signed catcher Edwin Bellorin to a minor league deal, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Bellorin, 28 in February, hit .277/.308/.351 in 216 plate appearances in his fourth Triple A stint. David Waldstein of the New York Times profiles new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos. Ronald Blum of the AP chatted with Aroldis Chapman, who doesn't mind beginning his pro career in the minors. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince expects a quiet offseason for the Indians, though he wonders...   Continue Reading

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Odds & Ends: Astros, Schmidt, Callaspo

A few Thursday evening links to browse through.... MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Houston Astros will decrease their spending in 2010, after the team's payroll exceeded $100MM the first time in 2009. Filing for free agency may have just been a formality for Jason Schmidt, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The 36-year-old righty looks headed for retirement. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com hasn't heard anything that substantiates rumors of an Alberto Callaspo-A.J. Ellis swap between the Royals and Dodgers. Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times is "horrified" that the Phillies are considering Placido Polanco for their third base opening....   Continue Reading

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Royals Prefer Trades

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star dishes on the Royals... Dayton Moore...step away from the free agent market. The Royals are moving toward trades, with an eye on the long-term. Owner David Glass says the plan is to "turn over some of the club." Moore already made a nice move in flipping Mark Teahen for Josh Fields and Chris Getz. Dutton again mentions the talks between the Dodgers and Royals on a possible A.J. Ellis for Alberto Callaspo deal. Ellis, 29 in April, posted OBPs over .436 in Triple A for 2008-09. The Royals are probably stuck with Jose...   Continue Reading

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Olney On Ausmus, Carroll, Prior, Penny

A few notes from ESPN's Buster Olney... Via Twitter, Olney's heard from other teams that the Reds would love to move closer Francisco Cordero. Of course, closers are plentiful and Cordero is set to earn $25MM over the next two years. I mentioned in our Reds Offseason Outlook that the team would have to eat half of that to make him mildly appealing. Similarly, the Indians would definitely listen on Kerry Wood, who is set to earn $20MM over the next two years. Olney believes other teams could join the Reds and Tigers in cost-cutting mode. He says the teams...   Continue Reading

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Royals, Wilson Betemit Reach Agreement

THURSDAY, 10:09am: Via a press release, the Royals announced they've agreed to a minor league deal with Betemit. WEDNESDAY, 5:55pm: Wilson Betemit is likely to sign a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Betemit spent 2009 in the Chicago White Sox organization, after being part of the deal that sent Nick Swisher to New York. Betemit hit .200/.280/.311 in only 20 games for the Sox, but has had some major-league success in the past. As the FOX report points out, Royals GM Dayton Moore was part of...   Continue Reading

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