Royals Notes: Johnny Giavotella Traded, Carlos Peguero Released

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The baseball world has been buzzing today, with several teams making a bunch of moves, and the Royals didn’t want to be left out. Less than 24 hours after being designated for assignment, Johnny Giavotella has found a new home: the Royals announced that they traded the 27-year old second baseman to the Angels in exchange for Brian Broderick.

Broderick is a 28-year old right-handed pitcher who was signed to a minor league deal by the Angels earlier this month, after pitching for an independent league team in 2014. He spent the previous 7 seasons between the Cardinals and Nationals organizations, appearing in 11 big league games in 2011.

He doesn’t have sparkling run prevention numbers, with a 5.49 ERA in 2013 and a 6.42 ERA in 2012, but Broderick does appear to have good command, walking 1.8 batters per 9 innings in his minor league career. He also struck out more than a batter per inning in 2014, while he was with the Sugar Land Skeeters. Which is a baseball team. He’s mostly worked as a starter, although he collected 27 saves for the Skeeters, so he should get some time in the bullpen for the Storm Chasers or Naturals next season.

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As for Gio, the Angels recently traded Howie Kendrick to the Dodgers, so he may get a shot at their starting second base job, competing against Grant Green and recently-acquired Josh Rutledge.

That trade came shortly after the Royals requested release waivers on Carlos Peguero. The left-handed slugger was rumored to be an option for right field and/or designated hitter, but clearly Alex Rios and Kendrys Morales took those options away. Peguero likely would have been designated for assignment during Spring Training, so this move simply accelerated the timeline.

He appeared in 10 games for the big league club in September, but did hit 30 home runs in Omaha, including 15 in August alone. Peguero has always had issues making consistent contact, and that issue didn’t disappear last year, as he struck out in a third of his plate appearances. The 27-year old Dominican will now be free to sign with another team.

With Peguero off the roster, the Royals officially announced the Rios signing that had been reported earlier this week. The only surprise part of the deal was that a $12.5 million mutual option was also included – which maybe shouldn’t have been a surprise – with a $1.5 million buyout. According to my unassailable math, that guarantees Rios $12.5 million. The Royals’ roster is back to having 40 players, meaning 1 more player will need to be moved when the Edinson Volquez signing is made official.