Three more KC Royals players have begun playing winter league baseball in Latin America.

Tony Abreu with Omaha via Minda Haas (Royal Blues).

Infielder Tony Abreu has played all three games at second base for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Winter League. Last week, he went 5-for-12 (.417) with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. He did strike out three times.

The other two players are both catchers. Julio Rodriguez is playing for Gigantes del Cibao in the DWL. In one game, he has gotten just one at-bat (he struck out). Manny Pina is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League for Bravos de Margarita. He also only played in one game and went 0-for-2.

Pina’s teammates with Margarita are fellow catcher Max Ramirez and pitcher Blaine Hardy. Ramirez played in ten games, two at first base and one behind the plate. He went 6-for-15 (.400) with a double. Ramirez scored two runs, walked twice, and struck out once. Hardy pitched in four games and had a rough week. He blew two saves and allowed seven runs (four earned) over just 2.1 innings. Hardy allowed six hits and five walks while striking out just two.

Mario Lisson is playing in the VWL for Navegantes del Magallanes. He played in three games last week, all in the outfield. He went 3-for-10 with a double, two runs scored, four RBIs, a walk, and a sac fly. He struck out twice.

Juan Gutierrez pitched in three games in his second week in the VWL with Leones del Caracas. In three innings, he allowed three hits and a run (unearned), along with three walks. He struck out two while picking up two saves.

In Mexico, Anthony Seratelli continues to hit for Venados de Mazatlan. In nine games, all in the outfield, he went 11-for-36 (.305) with three doubles, seven walks, and a homerun. He scored six runs and drove in six. He did strike out nine times and stole a base.

Federico Castaneda is pitching for Tomateros de Culiacan. In four games totaling 2.2 innings, he allowed a single run via the long ball. He allowed two hits while striking out three. He picked up two holds.

*Jorge Bonifacio (DWL), Anontio Cruz (DWL), and Brandon Sisk (VWL) did not appear in a game last week.

Omaha made an RBI ground out in the 2nd inning hold up, as they beat Memphis, 3-0. The Storm Chasers tacked on two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning on a Clint Robinson two-run double.

Jake Odorizzi made the start but lasted just five innings due to four walks (95 pitches). He allowed just two hits in his scoreless innings. Doug Davis pitched three shutout inning of relief behind Odorizzi.

On offense, David Lough picked up two of Omaha’s five hits.

NW Arkansas scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning en route to their 10-5 win. Julio Rodriguez drove in two runs with a single and Paulo Orlando followed with a three-run homerun (Rodriguez had three hits and Orlando finished with two hits).

Leading 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, Patrick Keating allowed a two-run homerun to Mike Olt (his second of the game) to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Keating rebounded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th inning.

The much-anticipated matchup between Wilmington’s Yordano Ventura and Frederick’s Dylan Bundy was just as advertised. Both had similar lines, but the Blue Rocks handed Bundy his first professional loss, 1-0.

Ventura pitched five shutout innings and allowed three hits and three walks while striking out six. Bundy allowed one run on three hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven. “Bundy looked incredible,” said Blue Rocks manager Vance Wilson following the game.

The Blue Rocks scored their lone run on a suicide squeeze by Alex McClure in the bottom of the 5th inning.

The Blue Rocks took the second game of the doubleheader, 2-1 with another solid pitching performance. Greg Billo followed up his Carolina League Pitcher of the Week performance with five innings. He allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out six.

Nick Rogers picked up his seventh save of the save with two 1-hit innings of relief.

Frederick had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th inning, only to see the Blue Rocks score two runs in the bottom of the inning. Cheslor Cuthbert, who hadn’t played since May 29th, went 2-for-3. Geulin Beltre also went 2-for-3.

Kane County was pummeled 15-3 by Peoria. The Cougars runs were scored in the final two innings.

Jorge Bonifacio went 2-for-3 in the loss. The Cougars used five pitchers, including yesterday’s starter Angel Baez, who was ejected in the 9th inning (though I think someone typed in the wrong reliever). Michael Giovenco pitched two hitless innings of relief while striking out three.

Omaha led 5-0 after the top of the 3rd inning and held on for the 6-3 victory over New Orleans. Brandon Sisk earned the win in relief of starter Jake Odorizzi, who lasted just four innings. Sisk pitched two shutout innings and allowed just one hit.

New Orleans brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning against Roman Colon, but he struck out Gaby Sanchez (who was recently demoted from Miami) to end the game (Sanchez left seven men on base).

Wil Myers, as the DH on Monday, went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Clint Robinson went 2-for-3.

Omaha returns home on Tuesday to face Iowa and Memphis.

A four-run top of the first inning did in NW Arkansas, as they lost to Frisco, 9-6. The Naturals had 11 hits, including five doubles (two from Julio Rodriguez) and a solo homerun by John Whittleman.

Yem Prades went 3-for-5 and Mario Lisson went 2-for-3 in the loss. The Naturals will enjoy Tuesday’s off day before heading out on the road to play Midland and Frisco again.

Two 2-run innings held up, as Wilmington beat Carolina, 4-3. Angel Franco hit a two-run homerun in the top of the 4th inning to break the 2-2 tie. It was his first of the season (he went 2-for-5)

Brian Fletcher went 2-for-4 and Geulin Beltre went 3-for-5. The seldom used Luis Piterson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

The new piggy-back combination of Leondy Perez and Greg Billo pitched well, especially Billo. He pitched 2.1 shutout innings of relief and did not allow a hit.

Kane County scored two runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the game at 9-9 and send it into extra innings. Orlando Calixte hit a two-run homerun to tie the game (he went 4-for-7). They had a chance to win it with the bases loaded by Jorge Bonifacio struck out to end the inning.

The game would go to the 12th when the Cougars needed to use a position player to pitch. That was Dean Espy and things fell apart. Beloit scored six runs on five hits in the top of the 12th and won 15-9. The two teams combined for 41 hits (Michael Antonio went 4-for-7)

The Cougars had the bases loaded with nobody out to start the bottom of the 12th inning, but did not score.

Nick Graffeo pitched three scoreless innings of relief before Espy came on in the 12th inning. Graffeo allowed just one hit while striking out three.

Two 3-run innings boosted Omaha over Nashville, 6-3. They pounded out 13 hits en route to the victory. Jarrod Dyson and Max Ramirez each had three hits. Johnny Giavotella hit a two-run homerun in the 4th inning.

The offense made a winner of Ryan Verdugo, who walked five but allowed just one run. He gave up three hits while striking out four.

NW Arkansas finally received a stellar starting outing, this one coming from Jake Odorizzi. He pitched seven shutout innings. He allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out a franchise best-11. The Naturals beat Springfield, 5-0.

Christian Colon, Kurt Mertins, and Julio Rodriguez each had two hits in the win. Rodriguez drove in two runs. In his second straight rehab outing, Lorenzo Cain went 0-for-5.

Just when the Wilmington Blue Rocks offense started to click (including the power), they had to travel to Salem to face Daisuke Matsuzaka on a rehab assignment (there were less than 2,000 fans in attendance). Well, the power continued, as they beat the Red Sox 7-2.

Whit Merrifield led off the game with a homerun (he went 3-for-5 with four runs scored). Geulin Beltre hit another homerun off Dice-K in the 2nd inning. Brett Eibner added a solo homerun in the 8th inning. Cheslor Cuthbert went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and Brian Fletcher went 2-for-5.

The burst of offense FINALLY made a winner of Jason Adam. He pitched five shutout innings to lower his ERA to 0.40. He allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five.

Lake County had a six-run and a four-run inning to beat Kane County, 11-8. The Cougars actually led 8-6 before the Captains put together their four-run 8th inning. Michael Giovenco took the loss, as he allowed two homeruns in that 8th inning (including the first to Cleveland Indians prospect Francisco Lindor).

Cougars leadoff hitter Justin Trapp went 3-for-4 with SIX RBIs.

The KC Royals invited three catchers to spring training, on top of the three catchers already on their 40-man roster. The main reason to invite more catchers to camp is to have someone to catch ALL the pitchers. The Royals have 29 pitchers expected to be in camp when official workouts begin on February 21st.

The real competition in terms of catchers will come between Manny Pina and Brayan Pena for the backup job to Salvador Perez (more to come on that during spring training).

So what about those other three guys?

Julio Rodriguez on Judy Johnson Night

Cody Clark re-signed with the Royals after spending the 2011 season with Triple-A Omaha. There he hit .233 in 51 games. Most likely he will return to Omaha and be the backup to whoever loses the big league backup battle.

The Royals signed Max Ramirez, the one-time Texas Rangers prospect, in the offseason. Ramirez split 2011with three Pacific Coast League teams, hitting .278 combined over 83 games. It will be interesting to see where he ends up because he could be the wild card and win the big league backup job.

Julio Rodriguez was acquired along with pitcher Antonio Cruz for infielder Wilson Betemit from the Detroit Tigers last summer. He was having a good season in Lakeland (the Tigers High-A team) before the trade (.283), but he struggled after the trade with High-A Wilmington. He hit just .219 in the pitcher-friendly league.

The good thing is, he doesn’t strike out (just 37 times in 299 at-bats in 2011). Big league camp will be good for him so the Royals can get a better look at him and he can work with some of the coaches. I expect him to return to Wilmington and work with new manager Vance Wilson (a former big league catcher).

*Check back tomorrow for a look at more of the Royals non-roster invitees.

Another week has gone by already, so it’s time for an update on the KC Royals minor leaguers that are participating in Instructional League in Arizona.

I know wins and losses don’t really matter, but Surprise won its first game of the week (10/10) behind great pitching. Allen Caldwell started and allowed one run on three hits and a walk over four innings. He also struck out two. Santiago Garrido pitched two one-hit innings while striking out one. Antonio Cruz also pitched two one-hit innings, but he struck out three. Finally Nick Rogers pitched the final inning, but allowed an unearned run on two hits while striking out two.

Offensively in the game, Brian Fletcher went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Julio Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a HR, an RBI, and a run scored.

However, the KC team lost on October 10th. Alex Llanos went 1-for-2 with a run scored, two walks, and a stolen base. 2011 draft pick from UCLA,  Dean Espy, went 1-for-2 with a homerun, an RBI, and a run scored.

The next day (10/11), Surprise’s game ended in a tie. Yem Prades went 1-for-3 while Brett Eibner went 1-for-3 with a homerun, an RBI, a run scored, and  walk.

KC lost despite the fact that Nicolas Blanco (who pitched in 2011 for the AZ Royals) pitched three no-hit innings. He also struck out one.

Then the losing began for Surprise. They lost on October 12th, despite the fact that they received some stellar pitching. Edwin Carl, who just missed Baseball America’s cut for top 20 prospects in the Pioneer League, allowed one run on three hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out eight. Ethan Hollingsworth, who the Royals received in exchange for Kila Ka’aihue from the Oakland A’s, allowed one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out three.

Offensively for Surprise, Eibner went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Surprise again lost on October 14th as poor defense hurt the team. Jon Keck allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits over 3.2 innings. He struck out four. Offensively for Surprise, Eibner went 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, and two walks. Rodriguez went 1-for-2 while Jose Bonilla also went 1-for-2.

Instructional League games end on October 21st so the minor leaguers have about a week left to make an impression on the coaches and get their work in before the offseason officially begins (unless they are heading to winter ball).

Just when I was working on a trading deadline post to get up on here tomorrow, the KC Royals began the dealings a little early.

Wednesday afternoon, they traded utility fielder Wilson Betemit to their divisional foe, the Detroit Tigers. Ever since the promotion of rookie third baseman Mike Moustakas, Betemit has been riding the pine more than playing (he has played in just nine games since Moose’s June 10th promotion). At that time, Betemit was hitting .289 (he’s hitting .281 right now).

Making the deal puts current Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge’s future in jeopardy (he is the longest tenured Tiger but has struggled at the plate and with mono).

Betemit is expected to join the Tigers on Thursday in Minnesota.

“He’s going to be hitting at the bottom of the lineup, so it’s a spot where all of a sudden you have a guy like that down below that can add, from an offensive perspective, we feel good about that,” Tigers GM Dave Dombrowki said.

Mike Aviles was recalled from Triple-A Omaha to replace Betemit on the Royals roster.

What did the Royals receive, you ask? Well, two minor leaguers who were not high in the Tigers prospect rankings and both were in Single-A.

Antonio Cruz, a left-handed pitcher, had been pitching the entire season with the West Michagan Whitecaps in the Midwest League. The 19-year old is 2-6 with a 3.11 ERA in 22 games (10 starts). Since the Whitecaps are hosting the Kane County Cougars tonight (the Royals Low-A affiliate), Cruz will just switch clubhouses and uniforms.

Julio Rodriguez, a catcher, had been playing for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in the Florida State League. The 20-year old was hitting .283 with 11 doubles, one homerun, 27 RBIs, and 20 runs scored in 66 games. He is expected to join the Wilmington Blue Rocks and become the team’s youngest player.

*In other news, the KC Ribeye Stack was voted as Kauffman Stadium’s Signature Sandwich. The sandwich received 63% of the fans vote and will be featured at Hot Corner Grills throughout the rest of the season. The char-grilled ribeye is topped with cheddar cheese, applewood bacon, sauteed mushrooms, a crispy onion ring, lettuce, tomato, with Kansas City smoky and Gold barbeque sauces on a potato bun.