Royals Acquire Carlos Peguero from Mariners; Everett Teaford Designated for Assignment

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Royals have announced that they have traded for 26 year old outfielder Carlos Peguero, from the Mariners, in exchange for cash. In a corresponding move, Everett Teaford has been designated for assignment to clear space on the 40 man roster, per the Kansas City Star’s Chris Fickett.

Peguero was recently designated for assignment by the Mariners after a 2013 in which he had a .787 OPS with 20 home runs, almost exclusively at the AAA level. His career line in the minors is .274/.334/.504 in 3133 plate appearances. In a smaller sample, Peguero has hit a meager .195/.242/.380 in 219 big league plate appearances, with 9 home runs. Oddly enough, 3 of those home runs came off Peguero’s new teammate, James Shields. Offensively, Peguero offers a lot of power from the left side, although his strikeout and walk rates leave something to be desired. Off the field, Peguero – or rather, Peguero’s wife – made some news last season. Mrs. Peguero was charged with wire fraud for racking up $180K worth of purchases with a credit card belonging to Felix Hernandez‘s wife. That’s his former teammate, Felix Hernandez. It’s probably for the best that Peguero is no longer going to be in the Mariners’ locker room.

Teaford appeared to be on the outside looking in at the last available spot in the Royals’ bullpen, and since he is out of options, this kind of move could have been expected. Teaford was scheduled to appear on the Royals Caravan, but he was notified of the move prior to departing, which is good, because the meet and greet with fans could’ve gotten kind of awkward. Regardless, Teaford is now on waivers, and a team could look to pick up a decent LOOGY option at a low cost. While his big league peripherals aren’t outstanding (5.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9), Teaford has been much better in AAA, where he’s struck out almost a batter per inning.

The newest Royal outfielder joins an already crowded outfield corps, and, like the other potential 4th outfielders, Peguero is out of minor league options, which makes this move seem strange on its surface. However, as my good friend David Lesky points out, the Royals may attempt to sneak Peguero through waivers and stash him in Omaha. Peguero’s skillset is different from both Jarrod Dyson and Justin Maxwell, so it is possible he finds himself in the thick of the competition in spring training, although it’s hard for me to see him as a better option than the other two players, and his below average defense probably wouldn’t be a great fit in Kauffman Stadium. My guess would be that the Royals try to pass Peguero through waivers, which would clear a 40 man roster spot, at which point they might be able to sign another player. Perhaps a certain starting pitcher who is open to pitching for a non-Pittsburgh-based team in 2014?