Royals add RHP, cut infielder

The Royals have signed veteran relief pitcher Juan Cruz to a 2 year, $6 million contract. Included in the deal is a club option for a third year as well. To make room on the 40-man roster the Royals designated Esteban German for assignment which gives the club 10 days to trade or release him. I'm sure some Royals fans are now rejoicing, but I'm wondering why it wasn't Ross Gload who was cut?

An eight year major league veteran, Cruz went 4-0 with a 2.61 ERA last season with 71 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings. Yeah, as you can see the dude cooks with gas. That's some serious punch out ability. For his career Cruz is 29-31 with a 4.00 ERA. He has spent the past three seasons with the Diamondbacks. Cruz has also notably pitched for the Athletics, Cubs, and Braves throughout his career.

There are some side notes with this signing. Assuming the Royals can't trade German within the allotted 10 days they will owe him $197,000 in separation pay. Also, the club will now surrender their second-round draft pick for signing Cruz, who is a Type A free agent. Normally, Type A free agents require the signing team to surrender a first-round draft choice, but teams that pick in the top 12 of the first-round are only required to give up their second rounder and the team that loses the player will receive a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds.

Finally, the Royals will pay $2.25 million to Cruz this season, so as you can obviously see, they have gone above their $70 million payroll originally scheduled for the 2009 season. This is a potentially huge signing for the club and helps shore up the void left by the trades of Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez this winter. In fact, Cruz is better than either one of those pitchers.

Royals pound Giants

Ryan Shealy pounded a three-run homer in the sixth inning to pace the Royals to a 6-1 thumping of the San Francisco Giants on Friday at the Giants' Spring Training complex.

Shealy's shot came off former Angel Ramon Ortiz with no outs and Mike Aviles and Billy Butler aboard. The homer gave the Royals a 5-0 lead and was all the support the pitching staff would need.

Seven Royals pitchers combined to allow just one run on five hits. Zack Greinke was the winner after tossing two innings and allowing 0 runs on 0 hits, 0 walks and struck out a batter. Joakim Soria tossed one inning and had one strikeout. Robinson Tejeda and Jamey Wirght each had holds with a scoreless inning apiece out of the 'pen.

Shealy finished 1-for-2 with 3RBI. Mike Aviles went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Miguel Olivo finished 2-for-3.

Randy Johnson took the loss for the Giants. He gave up a run on one hit through two innings of work.

NOTES: Despite the win, the Royals stranded 16 runners ... Stranding runners was a problem with last year's club, so you can bet Trey Hillman didn't like what he saw on Friday ... Miguel Olivo threw out a basestealer, but was also caught stealing as well ... The Royals didn't commit an error defensively.

Royals struggle in first Cactus League outing

It wasn't a pretty start to the Cactus League season for the Royals on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium. Royals starting pitcher Horacio Ramirez, fresh off a free agent contract that guarantees him $1.8 million, couldn't get out of the first inning. Mark Teahen, well, he looked like a guy that is re-learning how to play second base and had a very shaky game. And Yasuhiko Yabuta picked up where he left off last season by allowing at least one run per outing.
Mix all of that together and you have the Rangers whipping up on the Royals, 12-7. Not all went wrong for Trey Hillman's squad though.
Newly acquired slugger Mike Jacobs belted a 3-run homer - his first in a Royals uniform - in the third inning with the Royals trailing 9-1. Later, Mitch Maier - who is vying for a spot on the team as the fourth outfielder - drilled a two-run dinger in the ninth.
The damage had already been done. The Rangers scored six times off of seven hits in the first against Ramirez. Despite the late-inning comeback, the 9-1 lead Texas built by the second inning proved too much.
"You never want to get hit around like that," Ramirez said. "But I’ll take it for what it is. I’ve just got to tighten the screws a little bit."
Teahen committed two errors, and he looked like a guy with some jitters at second. He threw an out away early in the first and failed to turn a potential inning-ending double play. There were a couple of other plays where he seemingly started late on the ball and failed to make the play. One of those misplays resulted in another error.
Still, it's only the first outing of the spring for these guys, so Hillman isn't sweating it.
"We didn’t win, but I saw some good things," he said. "I saw some good swings. I saw some great takes. More walks than strikeouts. We just didn’t pitch well. The errors, obviously, affected the early innings."
Teahen, known as guy who likes to crack a joke now and then, managed to make light of the performance at his new(est) position.
"There’s no point of peaking in the first game," he cracked.

Please tell me DeJesus won't be batting third

Allow me to address, in my own opinion, the saga surrounding the Royals and the three spot in the batting order. Right now, buzz around the Royals camp seems to be focused on who is going to hit third, presumably in front of Jose Guillen, in '09.
Undoubtedly, some of you will disagree with me on this one, but it just scares me that the swirling word is David Jesus will be the guy. Hear me out on this one. I'm not going to throw a bunch of stats in your face that half of the baseball world doesn't even understand. Rather, I'm just going to talk baseball sense here.
As much as I respect DD, in no way is he made to be a three-hole hitter.
For a guy who is coming off a year in which he reached a career plateau with 12 dingers, I can put together a pretty good case here. Some of you are going to throw out guys like Joe Mauer (who hit third in the lineup with 13 homers while the Twins went to the playoffs) at me and try to compare DeJesus to him, but it isn't going to convince me.
I have heard the Mauer comparison already. Heck, a buddy of mine just tried using that excuse on me this morning after reading the national papers, and our conversation quickly turned into a pretty fun debate.
My response was: "How many titles have the Twins won with Mauer batting third?" Frankly, I don't give two craps about winning the division or all of that other garbage. Yes, you want to be a team that makes it to the playoffs, but it doesn't mean jack when you get tossed out in the first round each time you get there.
DeJesus needs to be in the two spot in this lineup - right behind Crisp leading off. The reason I say this is that DeJesus is a gap-to-gap shooter that can spray the ball all over the field. Is he going to suddenly hit more homers batting third in the lineup? The answer is no. In fact, at that position in the order you begin to see more and more breaking balls and the likelihood that DeJesus hits 12 home runs again is very unlikely. He's just not a power guy. Never will be. That's fine when you hit .300, but not for a guy at No. 3 in your order.
Yes, you want a consistent bat at the three spot. Royals new hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said as much on Monday. Over the course of his career Jose Guillen has been pretty consistent with the bat. He's your No. 3.
Getting back to my point about DeJesus at No. 2, let me use an example of what it could do for a lineup. Even though he is a great hitter, it has long been obvious that DD is NOT a leadoff hitter. Dayton Moore also believed this and that's why he went out and got Crisp. The thing is his speed. Leadoff guys get hits, draw walks and steal bases. Crisp will fill the void on the basepaths that has been lacking for years at the top of this lineup.
A coach of mine once told me to do what he called "going to the movies" before every pitch. The theory was that if you see it happen in your head then you will be prepared to make the play when it happens in real time.
Let's "go to the movies" together, shall we?
Imagine Zack Greinke has pitched a really good game (seven innings, two runs, five hits, eight K's) but the team is trailing 2-1 in the top of the 8th with the leadoff spot coming up in the order, and Greinke is on the hook for the loss. Kyle Farnsworth is warming in the pen, so Zack won't be coming out for the bottom of the inning. The Royals need a rally.
Crisp steps to the plate and homers to tie it. No, no, NO. Hang on, that screws everything up. I was trying to make a point. Let's see.
OK, so let's say that instead of a homer Crisp gets drilled in the leg by a pitch and takes first. Let me tell you, he got drilled so friggin' hard in the calf that there is no way he's running (even if John Buck is the one trying to throw him out). Oh, SNAP!
Anyways, DeJesus is at the dish now and flips a liner into left center that allows Crisp to shake it off and take third easily. Jose Guillen does his famous "homer-in-a-silo" routine and allows Crisp to tag up and score from third. Mike Jacobs grounds into a double-play and pretty soon the inning is over, tied 2-2.
In the bottom of the inning Farnsworth tackles the entire opposing team after drilling their leadoff guy in retaliation for Crisp getting hit. Suddenly, he's ejected and Joakim Soria has to come in and clean things up - Mexecution style. Somehow the Royals win in this mess.
Holy crap, my imagination runs wild. I'm sure someone is gonna want to call me out on this one. I'm being unprofessional. Better straighten up my act here. There's no need to stress and flip out on me here; I'm fully aware that there are a countless amount of combinations (good or bad) that can come from DeJesus hitting at No. 2 or No. 3. I know I am being ridiculous, and am sure somewhere in this column that I'll be accused of being too "fantasy" on someone.
The point is, DeJesus sitting behind Crisp gives this team many more opportunities to score runs. Yeah, if Mike Aviles is in the two spot and DeJesus is hitting third then that could just add to the fun. But what if Aviles doesn't return to the caliber of play that had him in Rookie of the Year discussions all over baseball last season?
The guy looks the part of being the surest of sure things, but we just have no way of knowing how he will respond in his sophomore season. Major league pitchers adjust to young guys. Ever heard the term "sophomore slump"? There's a reason it gets tossed around the neck of every second year player who had any sort of success in his inaugural year.
I expect Aviles to be really good again this season, but there's just no way to be sure. Yeah, he could have a good spring. I still think it would be a wise decision to hit him behind Guillen, Jacobs, Gordon and Butler. Down in the order he sees more fastballs which will help ease his transition into year two. The last thing this team needs to do is kill his confidence and the hot streak. If he steps in and hits then you can move him into the two spot. Just keep DeJesus out of the three-hole. Hit him down in the order.
Billy Butler and Alex Gordon need to put on big boy pants and prove themselves to be the middle-of-the-order guys they were projected to be. Hit one of them at No. 3 if you want to and make him prove himself. Just don't try and imitate a team that is ready to win by putting a guy with a career high of 12 homers in the middle of your lineup. Pitchers thrive off of confidence that they can handle opposing hitters. No pitching staff is going to take you seriously with David DeJesus batting third.

Tug is now a Royal

Yes, you heard it here. Tug signed with the Royals today. But have no fear everythingroyals bloggers, it's not this Tug.

Rather, the boys in blue signed former Mariners infielder Tug Hulett today and designated left handed reliever Neal Musser for assignment - meaning the club has 10 days to trade or release him.

Hulett, a 25 year old native of Springfield, IL, hit .283 last season at triple-A Tacoma with the Mariners and made hit big league debut on June 12 last season at, where else - Kauffman Stadium, and hit .224 with one homer and two RBI in limited action. He is a left handed hitter who can play second, short and third in the infield. The move gives the Royals more depth as they struggle to find cap room to sign veteran second baseman Orlando Hudson.

He was a 14th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 2004 out of Auburn University. Hulett was traded to the Mariners in 2007 for Ben Broussard and made his big league debut after the M's released Richie Sexson.

Hulett's father, Tim, you may recall, was a 12 year big league veteran for the Cardinals, White Sox and Orioles. Hulett will likely begin the season at triple-A Omaha.

Moore remains perfect 0-0 in arbitration hearings

If Dayton Moore has his way, no player will ever have to duke it out with the club in nasty arbitration hearings. With that being said the Royals and Mike Jacobs, the club's last remaining arbitration eligible player for '09, came to terms on a 1 year, $3.275 million deal on the eve of their scheduled hearing.

Jacobs, recently acquired from the Marlins for reliever Leo Nunez, bopped 32 homers for the fish last year despite hitting just .247. He will likely split first base duties with Billy Butler in '09. The deal came to fruition with many thanks to the recent signings of arbitration eligible boppers Ryan Ludwick, Andre Ethier and Nate McClouth. Both Jacobs and the Royals were waiting to hammer out a deal until seeing what kind of money was awarded to each of those players.

Royals Spring Training ticket info

2009 Kansas City Royals Spring Training ticket info. (Just for you, Mark!)
(Ticket prices)
Lower Dugout--$23
Upper Dugout--$20
Infield--$17
Plaza--$13
Lawn--$7
*Individual ticket pricing includes free parking
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Tickets may be purchased at the Suprise Recreation Campus - Surprise Stadium Ticket Office, located at: 15960 N. Bullard Ave. Surprise, AZ 854374
You can also order online at www.royals.com.

Tickets should be easily attainable at the stadium box office.

Full and partial-season tickets are also available for purchase. See royals.com for more info on that.
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(Opening weekend) Saturday, Jan. 3: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 4, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

(Jan. 5-Feb. 24) Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

(Feb. 25-April 2) Monday-Sunday: 10 a.m. - 30 minutes before game time.