KC Royals: Expect Cheslor Cuthbert To Get Sent Back Down

KC Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert barely had to time to check in at AAA Omaha before he was recalled to Kansas City due to Mike Moustakas‘ injury on Sunday. Expect him to go back down when Moustakas knee contusion heals.

Cuthbert returned to the Kansas City Royals lineup Tuesday night, racking up a single and an RBI in four at bats. While he certainly looks like he belongs in the big leagues, he returned to the KC Royals to play third base only because of Moose’s injury.

When Mike Moustakas is healthy once again, manager Ned Yost will probably prefer an outfielder to take the roster spot of Alex Gordon and use Whit Merrifield to back up at the infield positions. As of now, he’s acting as both the fourth outfielder and utility infielder with Paulo Orlando and Jarrod Dyson in the starting lineup.

This realization begs the question: just which minor league outfielder will get the call to Kansas City?

There are four obvious candidates. Three of them are players that I wrote about a little over a week ago as potential candidates to give an offensive boost in right field (just before Paulo Orlando’s recent tear).

However, since I wrote that article, the Kansas City Royals designated Jose Martinez for assignment and replaced him on the 40-man roster with Whit Merrifield. That pretty much eliminates Martinez from consideration.

In addition to Brett Eibner, Jorge Bonfacio, and Reymond Fuentes, (the link above has strengths and weaknesses for each player) you can add eight-year MLB veteran Travis Snider to the mix.