Tagged: Royals

Royals claim infielder Hulett from Mariners

The Royals acquired a second baseman on Thursday but no, not Orlando Hudson. It was Tug Hulett, claimed off outright waivers from the Seattle Mariners.
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Hulett will report to the Royals’ camp on Friday. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Royals designated left-handed pitcher Neal Musser for assignment.
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Last season Hulett, 26, broke into the Majors in 30 games with the Mariners, batting .224 (11-for-49). A left-handed batter, he spent most of the summer with Triple-A Tacoma and hit .298 with 14 homers and 47 RBIs in 91 games.
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Second base is his primary position but he’s also played shortstop and third base.
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Manager Trey Hillman doesn’t slot Hulett into the battle for second base which already features Alberto Callaspo, Willie Bloomquist and Mark Teahen.
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“I wouldn’t count him out because I don’t know what’s going to happen but it’s certainly not a priority with me with what we already have and are looking at there,” Hillman said.
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Hulett’s father, infielder Tim Hulett, played 12 seasons in the Majors for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals. Tim Hulett, born in Springfield, Ill., went to Auburn University.
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Musser, 28, was 3-5 with a 4.34 ERA in 36 games last season for Triple-A Omaha. He appeared in just one game for the Royals but, in 2007, he was in 17 games with a 4.38 ERA and a 0-1 record.
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Hudson, a free agent sometimes linked to the Royals, remained unsigned although the Los Angeles Dodgers were talking to him.

–Dick Kaegel

40th anniversary logos on uniforms

That dandy 40th anniversary logo that you see splashed on the Royals’ site will appear on the right sleeve of the Royals’ uniforms this season. You’ll also see it around Kauffman Stadium.

Among the special events in this anniversary season will be a game with ex-players called the Royals Hall of Fame Classic presented by Willie Wilson. The ol’ speedster is getting up a team of ex-Royals to meet a team of MLB All-Stars on July 17 before a night game against the Tampa Bay Rays. When was the last time there was any kind of “old-timers game” at Kauffman? Anybody remember one?

Another thing the club is doing is having fans submit photos, videos or written memories of their favorite Royals moments or best experiences at the stadium. These will be showcased as part of an advertising campaign so they have to be submitted by March 27. You can submit stuff by e-mailing it to  memories@royals.com.

— Dick Kaegel

 

Hudson talk wont go away

The Orlando Hudson talk involving the Royals isn’t going to go away until somebody signs the guy and the Dodgers are negotiating with the free agent second baseman. Royals general manager Dayton Moore was asked about the Hudson situation again on Wednesday. He was typically non-commital.

“Until every Major League free agent is signed, we look for ways to improve our team. But we don’t expect any new addition to our camp in the immediate future,” he said. “What we have here is what we expect to have. But you never know. The phone could ring and something could happen.”

But, really, there’s no hint that the Royals will land Hudson because Moore has reached his budget limit. He’d have to dump $4 or $5 million or whatever it takes to get Hudson and that’s not likely to happen.

Unless that phone happens to ring and . . .

–Dick Kaegel

Royals sign Jacobs, avoid arbitration

First baseman Mike Jacobs agreed to a one-year contract with the Royals, the club announced on Tuesday night.
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Jacobs signed for $3.275 million, the halfpoint between the figures submitted by the two sides. Jacobs asked for $3.8 million, the Royals offered $2.75 million. The hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
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The signing continued a streak for general manager Dayton Moore, who has never had an arbitration case advance to a hearing in his Royals tenure. Jacobs was the last remaining case for the Royals.
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This was the first shot at a multi-million dollar salary for Jacobs, who was traded by the Florida Marlins to the Royals this winter with that in mind. The Marlins paid him $395,000 last year.
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The Royals previously signed the three other players who exchanged figures in the arbitration process: Pitcher Zack Greinke to a four-year, $38-million contract; infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen to a one-year, $3.575 million contract, and pitcher Brian Bannister to a one-year, $1.7375-million deal.
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Five others who were eligible for arbitration also signed one-year contracts: Catcher John Buck, $2.9 million; pitcher Jimmy Gobble, $1.35 million; pitcher Kyle Davies, $1.3 million; infielder Esteban German, $1.2 million, and pitcher Joel Peralta, $640,000.

— Dick Kaegel

KC Camp notes: Bales back a little stiff

The Royals’ athletic trainers have been almost as lonely as the Maytag repairman. Not much business coming their way. “John Bale is having a little bit of stiffness in his upper back,” manager Trey Hillman told reporters on Monday. “He’s still doing almost all of the activities. No major concern there, he’s just having some soreness and some spasms going on.” Hillman said that was no urgency about Bale because he’s back in the bullpen and doesn’t need to get his arm stretched out as he did last year as a starter….Catcher Matt Tupman, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, is restricted in his throwing so far.

Just in case you were wondering, there are 15 players on the Royals’ 40-man roster who are out of Minor League options: Bale, John Buck, Alberto Callaspo, Shane Costa, Esteban German, Ross Gload, Jimmy Gobble, Jose Guillen, Ron Mahay, Gil Meche, Brayan Pena, Tony Pena Jr., Ryan Shealy, Robinson Tejeda and Doug Waechter. The other 25 guys have options remaining.

First baseman Mike Jacobs has his salary arbitration hearing set for Wednesday in the Phoenix area. He’s asking for $3.8 million and the Royals have offered $2.75 million. Middle ground is $3.275 million. No indication if a settlement is near or if they’ll go before the arbitrators….There’s a splashy new adornment to the Royals’ batting cages at camp. Overhead are art images of the 16 players in the Royals Hall of Fame, in alphabetical order from Brett to Wilson….Hillman left camp early on Monday to do his civic duty and participate in a charity golf tournament….If you haven’t noticed, outfielder Coco Crisp will be wearing uniform No. 2 and infielder Willie Bloomquist will be wearing No. 8. They agreed to switch digits during last month’s Royals FanFest. Crisp was No. 10 previously with the Red Sox and Indians; Bloomquist wore No. 16 with the Mariners. The Royals’ No. 10 is, of course, retired in honor of Dick Howser. And Billy Butler is wearing No. 16.

— Dick Kaegel

Moore would have to work magic to sign Orlando

Could Orlando Hudson be in the Royals’ second-base future? ESPN’s Buster Olney hears that the Royals are trying to figure out a way to fit Hudson into their budget.

That could be true because general manager Dayton Moore has said all along he’s always thinking about ways to improve the lineup. He also acknowledges that the problem is he’s reached (and probably exceeded) his $70-million plus payroll limit. Moore is already sticking his neck out to some degree. To add Hudson or any other player with a stiff price tag, Moore will have to lop off a sizable salary elsewhere.

There’s no doubt that Hudson, one of several alluring players still on the free-agent market, would help the Royals’ lineup. Right now at second base, there’s Alberto Callaspo and Willie Bloomquist set to do battle with Mark Teahen willing to shift to that spot if he can show he can handle it.

Moore will not comment on individual free agents and he cannot be asked about it now anyway. Sadly, he went to Houston on Saturday to be with his ailing mother.

Sure, Hudson would be a nice addition. But he won’t come cheap even if he’s running out of time; he made $6.25 million last year. Moore would have to figure out a money tradeoff to pull that off.

— Dick Kaegel