So much for Tony Abreu‘s shot at making the KC Royals Opening Day roster.

After picking up catcher George Kottaras off waivers from the Oakland A’s, the Royals designated infielder Abreu for assignment.

The reigning world champion SF Giants just claimed Abreu. He hit .322 in 103 games with Triple-A Omaha in 2012. He then played in 22 games at the end of the season and hit .257 with a homerun and 15 RBIs.

With the Giants, Abreu will battle with another former Royal, Joaquin Arias, to back up the infield that will consist of Marco Scutaro, Brandon Crawford, and Pablo Sandoval.

Losing Abreu now leaves the utility infielder jobs to guys like Irving Falu, Anthony Seratelli, and Miguel Tejada (who is still playing in the Caribbean Series). Chris Getz can be thrown in there, but he is battling for the starting second base job.

On Friday, the KC Royals claimed catcher George Kottaras off waivers from the Oakland A’s. The addition of Kottaras gives the Royals seven catchers in camp this spring, three on the 40-man roster.

Kottaras began last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was then traded to the A’s in July. Down the stretch with the American League West winning A’s, he hit six home runs and drove in 19 in 27 games. Overall, he hit just .211.

After the A’s acquired John Jaso last week, Kottaras became expendable.

To add Kottaras to the 40-man roster, the Royals designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment. I guess that means veteran Miguel Tejada is a little closer to the back up infielder job.

Another week has gone by, meaning it is time for another winter league update of KC Royals players.

Let’s start in the Dominican Winter League.

Infielder Tony Abreu played five games last week, three at second base. He went 3-for-18 (.167) for Aguilas Cibaenas. He walked twice, struck out three times, and scored two runs. He also made two errors at second base.

Antonio Cruz pitched in one game last week for Tigres del Licey. He did not record an out, but allowed a run on one hit.

Moving on to the Venezuelan Winter League, where there are five Royals playing.

Three of those players are playing for Bravos de Margarita. Manny Pina caught two games, but went just 0-for-3. He struck out once. Max Ramirez played in five games (one at first base) and went 8-for-22 (.364). He doubled, scored a run, and drove in a run. He struck out three times.

Lefty Blaine Hardy pitched in two games, although he pitched just 2/3 of an inning. He allowed a hit and a walk, while striking out once.

Mario Lisson played in five games (all in the outfield) with Navegantes del Magallanes. He went 5-for-21 (.238) with a double and a homerun. He scored two runs and drove in five. He did strike out seven times and committed an error.

Juan Gutierrez pitched in three games for Leones del Caracas. Over 2.2 innings, he allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three. He converted two of his three save opportunities.

» Continue reading “Royals Winter League Update”

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.

On Labor Day, the KC Royals welcomed the American League West leading Texas Rangers to town. The Rangers weren’t gracious guests, as they won 8-4. They led 6-0 before the Royals got on the board in the 6th inning.

The Royals were baffled by Rangers rookie Yu Darvish, who carried a perfect game into the 6th inning. He had six strikeouts over the first five innings. With two outs in the sixth, Johnny Giavotella worked a walk to end that bid and David Lough followed with a pop up that fell in to break up the no-hitter. Tony Abreu then followed with a two-run triple and Alex Gordon drove him in with a double.

Meanwhile, Bruce Chen was not baffling the Rangers hitters. Four of their six hits off him left the ballpark. With two outs in the 2nd inning, Geovany Soto hit a three-run homerun. With two outs in the 3rd inning, Josh Hamilton hit a solo homerun. In the 6th inning, Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz went back-to-back (on back-to-back pitches). Between Hamilton’s homerun and Beltre’s homerun, Chen had retired eight of nine.

Louis Coleman entered in relief in the 7th inning and retired six in a row (including striking out the side in the eighth inning), before he hit Cruz (and the benches cleared) and Michael Young followed with a homerun.

The Royals had their shot in the 9th inning against Rangers closer Joe Nathan. They picked up two hits with one out, but Lorenzo Cain grounded into the game ending double play.

The Royals had eight hits, but just two went for extra bases. They also hit into two DPs.

The Royals and Rangers continue their four-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night as Jeremy Guthrie faces All-Star Matt Harrison.

*The Royals haven’t brought up uber prospect Wil Myers, but did bring up outfielder David Lough. Lough has batted leadoff for three straight days (while playing right field) and has gone 5-for-13 in his big league debut. He also has at least one hit in all three of those games.

**For more on the Rangers, check out Big Game Claws.

For some reason, the KC Royals only like to beat the Minnesota Twins once a series. That win came in the series finale, 6-4.

It was a back-and-forth affair, as the Twins scored single runs in the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead. The Royals came right back with three runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Eric Hosmer drove in the first run with a sac fly. After a double steal, Tony Abreu drove in two runs with a single.

The game stayed 3-2 until the Royals scored another run in the 5th inning on Billy Butler‘s two out single.

Luis Mendoza exited after five innings and pitched pretty solid. He scattered seven hits and struck out three.

Lefty Tim Collins entered and loaded the bases with two outs. Alexi Casilla drove in two runs with a single to tie the game at 4-4.

Hosmer and Abreu struck again to take Collins off the hook. Hosmer doubled with two outs and Abreu drove him in with a single to retake the lead. The Royals added another run in the bottom of the 8th inning on a Lorenzo Cain RBI double.

After Collins‘ struggles, the Royals bullpen allowed just one base runner over the final three innings. The game was capped by closer Greg Holland striking out the side to pick up his tenth save of the season. He threw 18 pitches.

On offense, Abreu collected three hits, while Hosmer and David Lough each had two hits.

The Royals now welcome the Texas Rangers into town for four games.

The two teams combined for 34 hits, but they needed 12 innings to declare a victor. The visiting KC Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-9.

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

In the top of the 12th inning with two outs, Jeff Francoeur drew the rare walk. Eric Hosmer followed with a double. That brought up Tony Abreu, who blooped a single to left field to break the tie (it was an 0-2 outside pitch).

Greg Holland closed out the Red Sox in the bottom of the inning quickly, as he needed just 11 pitches to set them down in order.

Why did they need extra innings?

A six-run top of the 7th inning by the Royals tied the game at 9-9. After a poor start by Jeremy Guthrie (all good things must come to an end) and a sub-par relief outing from Everett Teaford, the Royals offense went to work late.

The Royals had a 3-0 lead after the top of the first inning against Aaron Cook (who got the start because of the trade of Josh Beckett), but Cook settled down to throw five straight scoreless innings before being lifted for Andrew Miller.

Hosmer singled with one out, but Abreu was called out on strikes. That’s when things got exciting. Miller issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. Alex Gordon drove in two runs with a single that chased Miller from the game.

In came Mark Melancon, who did not record an out. Billy Butler hit a ground-rule double to drive in one run and Salvador Perez followed with an RBI single. Out with Melancon and in with Craig Breslow. Mike Moustakas tripled to tie the game at 9-9 (his first of the season). It was an adventure in right field for Cody Ross.

Then the bullpens went to work for both teams to put up zeroes. The Royals only base runners before the 12th inning came via a hit by pitch and intentional walk in the 10th inning. They struck out six more times. The Red Sox had runners on base in every inning after that but the 12th. The Royals were aided by double plays.

*Mauro Gomez hit his first big league homerun in the 2nd inning off Guthrie (he went 4-for-6). Guthrie allowed two homeruns in that inning.

**Francisley Bueno picked up his first win, as he pitched 1.2 innings. He struck out two.

***For more on the Red Sox, check out Fenway Fatales.

Bruce Chen won for the first time in seven starts, as the KC Royals won at Chicago, 5-2. The win broke the Royals five-game road losing streak (they’ve only won four of their last 19 road games).

Chen was solid over 6.2 innings despite giving up a leadoff homerun to Gordon Beckham. The other run he allowed came in the 6th inning after the Royals just tied the game. In the end, he allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk.

After picking up their first hit of the game off White Sox starter Jake Peavy with one out in the 4th inning (a Billy Butler double), the Royals chipped away.

In the 7th inning, Tony Abreu singled up the middle to tie the game. Two batters later, Alex Gordon gave the Royals the lead with a single to center. That chased Peavy from the game.

Butler hit a two-run homerun in the 8th inning to give the Royals some insurance. The homerun was his 22nd of the season, a career-high.

The Royals bullpen duo of Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland pitched 2.2 perfect innings of relief. They combined to throw just 29 pitches, 22 for strikes. Herrera struck out three of the four batters he faced.

*The win for Chen was the 68th of his career, second most by a Panamanian in MLB history.  He trails only NY Yankees closer Mariano Rivera (76).

Maybe he can get on a hot streak and pass Mo? He is historically good in August: 20-9 with a 3.88 ERA.

It wasn’t a bad week for the KC Royals. They swept Cleveland to start the week at home, pushing the Indians closer to last place than first place. However they couldn’t continue that winning streak, as they lost two of three to Texas. Overall, they went 4-2 last week to improve to 45-62, good for last place in the American League Central (12.5 games back).

On the upside, the Royals are only four games worse than Philadelphia (who some think can creep back into the playoff picture). It doesn’t get any easier though, as they head out on the road to face first-place Chicago and then to Baltimore.

Omaha is in the midst of a three-game losing streak (after a four-game winning streak) to go 4-3 last week. Overall, they are 68-48, still sitting atop the American Northern Division in the Pacific Coast League with a 16 game lead. The Storm Chasers still have three more games in their homestand against Colorado Springs.

NW Arkansas also went 4-3 this past week, but are still in last place in the North Division of the Texas League. The Naturals are 13-30 in the second half, 16.5 games back. They even have a playoff elimination number of 12 already. They finish up their road trip against Arkansas tonight.

Wilmington went 2-4 last week, but stayed a 1/2 game back in the Northern Division of the Carolina League (everyone in the division is 4-6 in their last ten games). The Blue Rocks have off today, as they begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday against Winston-Salem.

Kane County went 3-4 this past week. The Cougars are 21-21 in the second half, good for a tie for third place in the Midwest League’s Western Division (five games back). They continue their home series against Cedar Rapids tonight.

 Hitters of the Week

Majors: The centerfield duo of Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain has been hot. Dyson is hitting .526 and Cain is hitting .400 and both have scored three runs. They are a combined 20-for-44 (.455) with five RBIs and eight stolen bases.

Minors: Tony Abreu, Omaha. There is a reason that he was promoted when Yuni was designated (and it’s not his defense). Over the last week, Abreu was 11-for-24 (.458) with three doubles, six runs scored, and 12 RBIs. His seven-game hitting streak came to an end on Friday.

Honorable Mention: Abreu’s teammate in Omaha, Johnny Giavotella. He was 8-for-28 (.286) with four runs scored and seven RBIs.

Pitchers of the Week

Majors: Over the last week, the bullpen has been used alot. Three relievers have thrown at least four scoreless innings. Greg Holland has pitched much better of late since being named the closer. Over four innings, he allowed three hits and two walks while striking out three. He picked up the victory on Sunday with their walk-off win in extra innings.

Kelvin Herrera has also not allowed a run over 4.1 innings. He allowed two hits and one walk while striking out six. He did not allow an inherited run to score over those two outings.

Lefty Tim Collins did not allow a run over three outings last week (4.2 innings). He allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out three.

Minors: This week, I have broken this award into two categories. First is the starting pitcher of the week, which goes to Wilmington’s Andy Ferguson. In two road starts, he allowed three runs on 12 hits and three walks over 13.2 innings. He struck out 15, but did not pick up a win.

The reliever of the week is a tie between Kane County‘s Jason Mitchell and NW Arkansas‘ Ethan Hollingsworth.

In two long relief outings, Mitchell threw a combined six shutout innings. He allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out two.

Hollingsworth also pitched twice and picked up the victory on August 3rd with two hitless innings of relief. Combined, he did not allow a run over 8.1 innings. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out four. Oh an he was just named Texas League Pitcher of the week.

The KC Royals salvaged the series at home against Texas, 7-6 in ten innings. There were three games that lasted ten innings in Major League Baseball on Sunday (as of me writing this).

It was a sloppy game, as the two teams combined for five errors. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Billy Butler led off with a walk against Rangers reliever Michael Kirkman. Eric Hosmer pinch-ran and moved to second base on a fielding error by Rangers shortstop Alberto Gonzalez. A throwing error on Jeff Francoeur’s ground ball by rookie third baseman Mike Olt allowed Hosmer to score the winning run.

Francoeur homered in the crazy 4th inning. The Rangers, who trailed 2-0 heading into the inning, led 5-2 when they were done batting.

Adrian Beltre drove in the first run with a single. With two on and nobody out, Butler (yes he was playing first base) threw the ball away on a ground ball, allowing another run to score. Olt drove in the go ahead run with a sac fly and Elvis Andrus (who would get hurt later) drove in two more with a triple.

All of that Rangers offense came against Royals starter Luke Hochevar. He allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk over six innings.

Butler made up for his error with a two out RBI single in the 5th inning before Brayan Pena gave the Royals a 6-5 lead with a six inning two-run homerun.

Michael Young tied the game up in the 7th inning with an RBI double, but a strong relay throw home got Andrus at the plate (where he injured his shoulder). That came against reliever Aaron Crow.

Greg Holland picked up the win after pitching two shaky innings of relief (three hits and two walks).

*Following the win, the Royals designated Yuniesky Betancourt for assignment. He wanted more playing time, but manager Ned Yost liked the play of Chris Getz more at second base. Infielder Tony Abreu was called up from Triple-A, where he was hitting .322.