I meant to get this published last night, but that was before my Market Fresh Update took twice as long to pull together than I though it would.

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The “Big” News:

According to Bob Dutton 3B-Mike Moustakas may miss the first two weeks of the regular season.  Apparently Moose strained his right oblique on a swing earlier this week and now his debut for Northwest Arkansas will be delayed.  J.J. Picollo recapped the action:

He felt something and the next swing, with two strikes he hit a single, but you could see that his swing was a little funny. He jogged down the line and called the trainer out.

Moustakas becomes the 3rd top-12 prospect in the organization, joining Danny Duffy and Jeff Bianchi, to be cut down by the injury bug this spring.

Also of note is the report that the Colorado Rockies have shown interest in RHP-Juan Cruz.  Personally, I think Dayton should try to move him in a deal and eat some of his contract if necessary.  Cruz strikes me as a good bet to bounce back this season after a dismal 2009 campaign anyway but a return to the NL would likely help him find his way a little faster.  He never seemed to settle in or get all that comfortable in Kansas City last season.

If this deal actually happens, the open bullpen slot could be used to evaluate one of the younger arms in the system with Blake Wood and Carlos Rosa being the two guys I most want to see in the Royals pen right now.  Since this is Dayton Moore we are talking about, we’d probably end up with on of the guys who were signed to minor league contracts this offseason like Brad Thompson or Josh Rupe.  I’ve got nothing against either Thompson or Rupe, and they really aren’t that old (28 and 27 respectively) but I don’t view either player as part of the team’s future.  Rosa and/or Blake Wood could be but we will never really know unless they are actually given a chance.

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Royals Bloggin’:

Royalscentricity – Logjammin: Middle-Infield Style

Royals Authority - Taking Stock of Spring

Royals Junkie – Anxiety in Baseball: Modern Techniques Can Ease The Burden

14 for 77 – Bees rotation as intriguing as any in the system

The Hardball Times – Five Questions: Kansas City Royals

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Transactions:

On Monday, LHP-Noel Arguelles was optioned to high-A Wilmington and SS-Jeff Bianchi was optioned to Double-A NW Arkansas.

On Tuesday the Royals optioned RHP-Carlos Rosa and RHP-Victor Marte to Triple-A Omaha.  I’m not surprised by either player being optioned down, especially Marte who has been battling injury.  I am however surprised that Rosa wasn’t given a longer look this spring.  It should be sink or swim time in the majors for Carlos, but Dayton and Trey won’t even let him get into the water.  Matthew Pouliot of Hardball Talk* took notice of the move as well.

*When did Circling the Bases become Hardball Talk?

On Wednesday the Royals optioned RHP-Aaron Crow to Double-A NW Arkansas.  Like the Rosa and Marte moves, this certainly didn’t come as a shock.  I have been extremely impressed by Crow thus far between his AFL and spring training innings and he is further along than I thought he would be.  I know some people wanted him to make the opening day roster, and some people believe the Royals should be conservative and keep him in the minors all season.  Typically I’d be in league with the latter group, but when it comes to Aaron Crow I hope the Royals let his pitching determine how quickly he moves up instead of sticking to a preconceived plan, time frame, or basing it on need at the major league level.  If Crow is the special talent we all hope and think he is, I wouldn’t be at all opposed to seeing him in Kansas City before the All Star break.

OF-Rene Oriental (25) is back with the Royals after a very bizarre detour.

According to Baseball America, the Royals signed LHP-Oswaldo Bravo at the end of February.

The latest from Baseball America Minor League Transactions indicates that the team signed LHP-Jose Sanchez last week and also released RHP-Deybi de la Cruz, LHP-Aneidy Toribio, 3B-Josh Johnson, and OF-Shawn Griffin.

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Former Royals:

Everyone’s favorite, RHP-Sidney Ponson, has signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.  The linked MLB Trade Rumors post on the topic sums it up perfectly with the following:

He became a free agent in August after Kansas City designated him for assignment, and this is the first time we’ve heard his name since.

Blue Jays C-John Buck hit two home runs yesterday and is now hitting 0.375/.375/.875 through 16 spring at bats.

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Random Stuff:

Remember the A.J. Ellis for Alberto Callaspo trade rumors?  Thanks to the pulled groin of catcher Russell Martin, it looks like we’re going to find out if Ellis has what it takes to survive in the major leagues.  He’s going to get his shot wearing a Dodgers uniform instead of a Royals one and I am completely okay with that.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tells it like it is in his own very unique way.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to try and set the world record for the “largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets.”  Tim Lincecum in a Giants knock-off Snuggie is cool.  Tens of thousands of Angels fans showing up to a game to don their own Hideki Matsui “blankie”?  Not so cool.  Snuggie-mania is running wild throughout this great country and I refuse to get on board.

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I should be back with more tonight including the latest edition of the Baseball Side of FanSided and the reveal of KoK Prospect #8.

(Wally Fish is the lead blogger for Kings of Kauffman and FanSided’s MLB Director.  Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)

(more…)

• On Sunday C-John Buck was placed on the 15-day DL with a lower back injury. To take his place on the roster the Royals called up C-Brayan Pena from Triple-A Omaha. I’m hoping Pena tears the cover off the ball so he sticks on the roster and Buck is the one sent packing when he’s ready to come off the DL. The Royals got Pena through waivers once already this season. I doubt it will happen again. Buck, on the other hand, will almost assuredly clear waivers if he’s put out there. Buck was hitting .226/.313/.452 at the time of his injury which is actually a slight improvement over the previous 2 seasons, but he has never hit higher than .245. On top of unimpressive offensive numbers, he is making $2.9 million this season and is throwing out less than 10% of baserunners on the season. He has no business remaining with the Royals at this point.
• Speaking of players who have no business on the ML roster, Tony Pena Jr. was activated from the 15-day DL on Tuesday. Pena takes the place of Coco Crisp who was placed on the bereavement list following the death of his great-grandmother. Unable to resist the charms of TPJ, Hillman has started him 2 straight games and Pena has responded by going 1-6 and raised his average to .059. As far as Crisp goes, it sucks that his great-grandmother died, but the extra time off should help him rest his shoulder. Since Hillman apparently refuses to hit DeJesus at leadoff, the Royals need Crisp back as soon as possible. I cannot handle another game with Bloomquist or Maier hitting leadoff.
• Also coming off the DL on Tuesday was Joakim Soria. Based on the team’s performance since he hit the DL, it would be easy to overstate what Soria means to the Royals pitching staff. Whether he is completely healthy or not, I’ll take the Mexicutioner at 75-85% over the rest of the pen at 100%. To make room for Soria on the roster, the Royals placed Sidney Ponson on the 15-day DL with a “right forearm strain.” Ponson said he felt the pain during his appearance against the White Sox last Friday. Whether or not he is really hurt, and I doubt he is, this injury does not excuse the fact that he has been flat-out terrible for most of the season. Ponson is yet another example of a player that should not be on a major league roster.
• Mike Aviles traveled to Los Angeles on Tuesday to get a second opinion on his right forearm. You may recall that I questioned the legitimacy of Aviles’ injury a few weeks ago. Well, I was wrong and I formally apologize to Mike Aviles and the Royals for questioning their motives in this instance. Aviles was to be seen by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum. Anytime a player goes to see Dr. Yocum or Dr. Andrews things are not looking up. Hopefully they can figure out what the problem is and get it fixed. The Royals need Aviles on the field and playing at a high level. When he is playing well he is the spark that this team is desperately missing right now.
• Saturday’s TBA starting pitcher figures to be Luke Hochevar. Since he was sent down he has pitched 8.0 innings giving up 13 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, and 6 SO. I’m still a big believer in Hoch, but I can’t help but wonder if bringing up Lenny DiNardo to take the bullet would be the better long-term move. In 52.0 IP for Omaha this season, DiNardo has a 3.29 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 3.90 SO/BB. We might be seeing DiNardo anyway since Bannister got rocked again tonight. On May 7th BB’s ERA hit 1.48. Since that night it has steadily climbed and now sits at 4.80. He has now allowed 57 H and 19 BB in 52.0 IP for the Royals this season. For the most part he kept it together for 5 starts this season, but he has been destroyed ever since.
• In tonight’s 9-0 loss the Royals were down 4-0 after 2 innings, 8-0 after 4 innings, and managed only 2 hits in 29 AB. Ugh!