Tagged: Kila Ka'aihue

Jose Guillen’s time with Royals ends; he’s DFA’d

The Royals cut ties with Jose Guillen on Thursday, with the veteran outfielder designated for assignment.

Guillen, who leads the Royals with the 16 home runs and 62 RBIs, did not figure in the club’s future plans. He was in the last year of a three-year, $36-million contract.

The move clears the way for Kila Ka’aihue, a top power prospect, to get more playing time. Ka’aihue is expected to share first base and designated hitter with Billy Butler.

To fill Guillen’s spot on the 25-man roster, the Royals called up pitcher Philip Humber from Triple-A Omaha. A starter, he was 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 21 games.

Guillen leaves the Royals in the wake of a terrible slump. He was just 1-for-28 in his last seven games, going hitless in 21 at-bats since collecting his 300th career double.

–Dick Kaegel

Ka’aihue, Holland had a big July before promotions

First baseman Kila Ka’aihue and right-hander Greg Holland apparently earned their promotions to Kansas City. They were named the Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for July with Triple-A Omaha.

Ka’aihue hit .343 with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs in July and was promoted as the month ended. Holland had a 0.59 ERA in 15 1/3 innings with 28 strikeouts before being called up last Thursday.

The other top players and pitchers for the other farm clubs: Northwest Arkansas (AA) – Second baseman Johnny Giavotella and left-hander Chris Dwyer; Wilmington (A) – Outfielder Nick Francis and left-hander John Lamb; Burlington, Iowa (A) – Outfielder Carlo Testa and right-hander Tyler Sample; Idaho Falls (Rookie) – First baseman Murray Watts and right-hander Greg Billo; Burlington, N.C. (Rookie) – Third baseman Ryan Stovall and right-hander Leonel Santiago; Surprise (Rookie) – Shortstop Michael Antonio and left-hander Rudy Brown; Dominican – Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and right-hander Jose Brazoban.

Left-hander Edgar Osuna had a rough initiation into Triple-A, giving up four homers among nine hits and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 12-6 loss at Memphis. . . . Eric Hosmer hit his seventh homer in 18 games since joining Double-A Northwest Arkansas. That matches the total he had in 87 games with Single-A Wilmington.

–Dick Kaegel

Kaaihue is making a strong case for himself

How ya gonna keep Kila Ka’aihue down on the farm?

Ka’aihue’s towering home run snapped a 12-12 tie in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 14-12 victory over Oakland. That gave the big first baseman from Hawaii a club-leading four home runs with 11 RBIs and his 3-for-4 boosted his average to .381 with 16 hits.

“He’s having a heck of a spring and he’s making a tremendous case for himself,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said.

But Ka’aihue is a first baseman-designated hitter and that’s a crowded department on the club with Billy Butler and Jose Guillen around.

“We’ve still got plenty of games left. I’m going to keep playing him,” Hillman said. “I’ve never said he’s not going to make the club and I’ve never said he’s on the club. And I’ve always said everything about him we like. So we’ll see how things go. It is a crowded spot but we need to have some run producers.”

Ka’aihue, a left-handed slugger, has seemed destined for a return to Triple-A Omaha all spring but, as the skipper likes to say, stay tuned.

Meantime on Saturday, Hillman’s pitchers (and those of the A’s) were unimpressive with Josh Rupe especially banged around. Rupe was making a strong case for a bullpen spot but, in starting against the A’s, he coughed up six runs in the first two innings.

Brad Thompson and Bryan Bullington each gave up three runs in three innings. But Thompson did pitch out of some jams and Bullington followed one bad inning with two good ones.

“I was real pleased that Thompson battled through some adversity and figured out a way to stop the bleeding,” Hillman said.

Hillman was also happy with the way Bullington finished up and how the ball was getting out of his hand.

The skipper had to get after Roman Colon, who was brought in to pitch the ninth with a two-run lead and immediately walked the leadoff batter. After ball one to the next batter, Hillman jumped up and went to the mound for an intense one-on-one.

“I thought he was too concerned about a runner on first base there in that situation and I just wanted to eliminate that,” Hillman said.

Colon got a strikeout, gave up a single, then retired the next two batters to end the slugfest.

–Dick Kaegel