Royals Designate Dusty Coleman, Yohan Pino

The Royals announced on Monday that they have designated right-hander Yohan Pino and infielder Dusty Coleman for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster for right-handers Joba Chamberlain and Louis Coleman, whose contracts have been selected from Triple-A.

The 31-year-old Pino signed a Major League contract this offseason despite his status as a minor league free agent and wound up pitching 19 2/3 innings for the Royals. In that time, he was effective, notching a 3.26 ERA with a 13-to-3 K/BB ratio. This marks the journeyman’s second season in which he’s accrued some big league service time; Pino debuted as a 30-year-old rookie with the Twins in 2014 and soaked up 60 1/3 innings for an ailing Minnesota pitching staff, posting  5.07 ERA along the way.

Dusty Coleman, 28, made his big league debut this season, though he received just five at-bats and went hitless with three strikeouts. The former 28th-round pick signed a minor league deal with the Royals this winter after spending the 2008-14 seasons with the Athletics organization. He has a lifetime .276/.321/.408 slash line at the Triple-A level.

Chamberlain and Louis Coleman will serve as bullpen depth for manager Ned Yost in the season’s final month. Chamberlain began the season on his second consecutive one-year free agent deal with the Tigers, but his second-half struggles from 2014 carried over into the 2015 campaign, ultimately leading to his release. He briefly latched on with Toronto on a minor league deal but opted out of the deal after struggling at Triple-A. With Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate in his native Nebraska, Chamberlain posted a solid 9-to-2 K/BB ratio but surrendered five runs in seven innings of work.

As for the elder of the two Colemans in this post (Louis), he will be in his fifth stint with Kansas City’s big league ’pen. The LSU product appeared in the Royals’ bullpen each year from 2010-14, totaling 174 1/3 innings with a 3.25 ERA, 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. However, he struggled to a 5.56 ERA in 34 innings last season, prompting a DFA and outright to Triple-A Omaha.