Royals Notes: Will Smith, Elliot Johnson, and More

Jul 7, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher George Kottaras (26) talks with starting pitcher Will Smith (53) at the mound in the seventh inning of the game against the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Oakland won 10-4. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals were off on Monday, a necessary break after dropping five of seven, including a rough series in Detroit. They start a stretch of games that pits them against the White Sox (49-74), the Nationals (60-64), the Twins (54-69), and the Blue Jays (57-68). If they’re going to improve their odds of making the postseason, this would be a great stretch in which to find another long winning streak.

Some other small news items have popped up:

• Justin Maxwell returned to the team after a brief time on bereavement leave. Will Smith was optioned back to Omaha to make room for him on the active roster. Smith’s getting used to that I-29 trip by now, I’d imagine, but he’ll be one of the key guys brought up once rosters expand (if injury doesn’t cause him to come back sooner). Maxwell is in tonight’s lineup.
• After Elliot Johnson was designated for assignment, no team claimed him, and the Royals  requested release waivers on him. He’s a free agent now, but there’s nothing preventing the Royals from offering him a minor league deal and keeping him in Omaha for depth. I wouldn’t particularly blame him if he went searching elsewhere, though, as the Royals have acquired Jamey Carroll and Emilio Bonifacio, and have Christian Colon, Irving Falu and others in Omaha if need be.
• Jeff Francoeur was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants after hitting just .194/.206/.226 in 63 plate appearances. I don’t imagine anyone else is going to snag him the rest of the way, and he’ll probably be looking at a minor league invite to camp next spring.
• David DeJesus should be returning to the K on Friday. I say should because right after the Washington Nationals acquired DeJesus, they put him on waivers to see if he’d clear (and thus, potentially be tradeable again). Odds are, he’ll make it through, as Washington acquired him for a PTBNL after claiming him on waivers in the first place, meaning half the league had already passed on him. Perhaps a contending team might be interested. I’d guess there are good odds DeJesus sticks with Washington though.
• Ken Rosenthal reported that the Royals did at least entertain the idea of acquiring Mark Reynolds after he’d been released. I thought he’d have been a good fit as a bench player, and perhaps a starter at third if Mike Moustakas had to go to the disabled list. Moose never went on the DL, though, and he seems close to getting back to 100% after a calf problem.
• Finally, Miguel Tejada has had a rough time (though brought on by himself). First, there was the suspension that shuts down the rest of this season, a large part of next season, and probably takes him out of the game entirely. Then, word came out from Pedro Gomez of ESPN that while he had failed tests for Adderall, he was also linked to the Biogenesis clinic that had Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez, among others, on its client list. Baseball apparently had the choice of suspensions for Tejada. He’s done.