It was on this day in 1968 that the Royals officially became the Royals, as the new expansion franchise officially announced its name a year before taking the field. The name was inspired by both the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League and Kansas City's annual "American Royal" horse show.
Here's the latest from the AL Central…
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik "would love" to have Brent Lillibridge but knows the White Sox aren't going to trade him, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
- Right-hander Deolis Guerra is the last player from the Johan Santana trade still with the Twins, and Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune looks at how Guerra has revitalized his career after a move to the bullpen.
- Felix Pie and Ryan Spilborghs can each opt out of their minor league contracts with the Indians on April 3, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Fred Lewis, another non-roster invitee, can opt out on June 1.
- Brandon Inge is going through another year of change as he tries to hold onto his spot on the Tigers' roster by moving to second base, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports.
- Andy Oliver's struggles don't make it any more likely that the Tigers will look outside the organization for a fifth starter, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. Duane Below and Drew Smyly are still contenders for the job and the Nationals' John Lannan, the most plausible trade candidate, may stay in Washington due to Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury.
Wouldn’t that be considered tampering by Jack Z?
I’m pretty sure that every gm has players they’d love to have, so no.
Lillibridge for Felix, straight up.