This afternoon, Twitter nearly fell apart at the seams upon the news that the Kansas City had signed former Royals outfielder Aaron Guiel.

Seriously. Baseball America reported it and everything.

Some Aaron Guiel facts:

• Guiel was born on October 5, 1972 – ten months before George Brett made his major league debut.
• Aaron Guiel hit 90 home runs in Japan after leaving the majors.
• Eric Hosmer was 12 years old when Aaron Guiel debuted with the Royals.

So why would the Royals sign an outfielder who turns 40 at the end of the year? My first thought was that they’d be bringing him in to fill in as an extra body for drills and such, similar to how players in the NFL are signed to fill out the practice squad or cover assignments. From there they could stash him within the organization similar to how they signed Vance Wilson in 2009 and kept him in Double A all year. Now he’s a rising star in the minor league managerial ranks.

Guiel announced his retirement last November. Sure, there’s a chance that he’s looking to make a comeback, but it would be a wild surprise if he was doing anything but coaching somewhere in the minors in 2012.

The Royals had also signed Devon Lowery in December after a year outside of baseball following years of injury-plagued seasons. HE spent last year coaching high school ball in North Carolina and will likely end up in the same boat as Guiel.

But if the Royals start signing Terrance Long, Mark Quinn and Mark Redman, you’ll have adequate cause to panic, as Allard Baird may have staged a coup.

After being the Texas League MVP in 2008 and a Triple A All-Star last season, he entered 2011 with the opportunity that had escaped him until last August – a full time spot in the big leagues.  Over the years, Kila’s been a mythic figure in the Royals farm system.  As the big league club struggled to get on base and struggled even more to hit the ball out of the park, this guy with a funny name was doing both at remarkable levels.

In 2008, he was doing well enough to inspire fans to call for his opportunity to come up.  In 2009, there was outcry that the Royals traded for Mike Jacobs to take a spot that was deservedly Ka’aihue’s.  In 2010, Twitter became the birthplace of the #FreeKila movement.  The day he finally made it to the big leagues outside of a September callup seemed like a shift to give younger players their shot.

He saw all of four plate appearances in May and was sent back to Omaha until August 2.

The Royals concerns have been his bat speed and maintaining his power against major league pitching every day.  So far, their concerns seem valid.  The new outcry, a year later, is to ship Kila off to the first team that’ll have him.  Send him to Omaha.  Cut him.

Am I disappointed? Of course.  I want Kila to show that his success in the minors wasn’t a fluke and that he can be a part of a successful Royals team.  His success just puts the Royals in an even better position as prospects continue their ascent to the majors.  Watching his struggles is frustrating, to be sure, but what’s more frustrating is the fickle turn against him.

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