KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Starting Lineup
CF Coco Crisp: off season acquisition hit .315 with a .392 OBP in 192 AB's after the All-Star break in 2008
LF David DeJesus: posted career highs in BA (.307), OBP (.366), HR's (12), RBI's (73), and SB's (11) in '08; acquisition of Crisp likely drops him to #3 in the batting order, although he says his approach won't change
2B Mark Teahen: will be given a chance to move from the OF to 2B if he can beat out Callaspo; hit .255 with 15 HR's in '08 UPDATE 4/2 - still no official word but I'm getting the feeling he could be at 2B more than Bloomquist or Callaspo; with the way he swung the bat in spring training, I have to think he'd hit 3rd or 4th
RF Jose Guillen: had a decent season with 20 HR's and 97 RBI's but did not come close to living up to the big contract he signed before the season, posting just a .300 OBP with 106 K's
1B Mike Jacobs: power-hitting lefty hit 32 HR's with 93 RBI's in '08 but had an unimpressive .299 OBP
DH Billy Butler: hitting .282 with 19 HR's in his first 772 big league AB's and he will only be 22 years-old when the '09 season starts
3B Alex Gordon: 24 year-old entering his third season in the big leagues; hit .260 with 16 HR's and 35 doubles in 2008
C Miguel Olivo: good power (44 HR since 2006) and great arm behind the plate (thrown out 36% of attempted base stealers in career) but some of the worst BB/K ratios you'll ever see (7 BB/82 K in '08) UPDATE 3/4 - looks like the Royals are fully committed to Olivo as the starting catcher to start the season
SS Mike Aviles: 27 year-old rookie came out of nowhere to hit .325 with 10 HR's, 51 RBI's, and 8 SB's in '08

Bench
C John Buck: career .234 hitter in five big league seasons but has thrown out 28% of attempted base stealers in his career
C Brayan Peña: hit .303 in AAA Omaha after being claimed off of waivers from the Braves in May '08; out of options, he could end up elsewhere by the beginning of the season UPDATE 4/5 - appears to be 1 of the 25 players on the opening day roster but the team will have to make a move before next Friday when Sidney Ponson is called up to make his first scheduled start
IF Willie Bloomquist: former Mariner should be a valuable player off the bench; has played every position but catcher UPDATE 3/7 - don't count him out of the 2B competition
IF Alberto Callaspo: will have to beat out a host of competitors, including Mark Teahen and Willie Bloomquist
IF Tony Peña, Jr.: UPDATE 4/2 - still in the mix for a bench job UPDATE 4/3 - has won a spot on the bench

Starting Rotation
RHP Gil Meche: went 8-2 with a 3.00 ERA after the All-Star break in 2008
RHP Zack Greinke: coming off of a 13-10 season, the 25 year-old is one of the better young starting pitchers in the AL
RHP Kyle Davies: won 9 of 21 starts and posted a 4.06 ERA in 2008 UPDATE 3/2 - appears to be solidifying starting job after five scoreless innings in his first two spring outings
LHP Horacio Ramirez: was excellent in 15 relief appearances (2.59 ERA, BB, 11 K) before being sent to the White Sox in an August deal; will be inserted into the rotation as the only lefty starter UPDATE 3/28 - may have saved his spot in the rotation with a good outing today UPDATE 4/1 - will be the team's #5 starter

Bullpen
RHP Joakim Soria: the 24 year-old has emerged into one of the most dominant closers in the game today, saving 42 of 45 games and posting a 1.60 ERA in his first full season as a closer
RHP Juan Cruz: UPDATE 2/28 - signing confirmed here; the 30 year-old does not look fun to hit against with a heavy sinking fastball in the low-to-mid 90's and a nasty breaking ball
LHP Ron Mahay: was 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA in the 1st half 0f '08 but fell apart in the 2nd half, posting an 8.62 ERA in only 17 appearances
RHP Kyle Farnsworth: hard-throwing 32 year-old has posted only one sub-4.00 ERA since 2004
RHP Robinson Tejeda: successful mid-season acquisition for the Royals, posting a 3.20 ERA in 25 relief appearances after being claimed off waivers in June
RHP Doug Waechter: useful reliever for the Marlins in 2008, posting a 3.69 ERA in 48 relief appearances
RHP Jamey Wright: signed to a minor league deal; went 8-7 with a 5.12 ERA in 75 relief appearances for the Rangers in 2008 UPDATE 4/2 - will not make the opening day roster; he is currently weighing his options (become a free agent or accept a minor league assignment) UPDATE 4/2 - correction: his deadline for making the major league roster was extended and he appears to have a spot in the bullpen UPDATE 4/3 - on second thought, maybe the first update from 4/2 was more accurate - this article doesn't include him in the projected plans UPDATE 4/5 - contract was purchased from AAA-Omaha (mlb.com transactions page), meaning he has made the opening day roster

Disabled List
LHP John Bale: 34 year-old veteran posted a 4.39 ERA in 13 games for KC in '08 UPDATE 2/28 - thyroid surgery is a major setback in his bid to win a bullpen job UPDATE 3/9 - now it looks like he should be ready by opening day UPDATE 3/27 - could get in a few games before the end of spring training but that would push back his return date if he has to start on the DL (read article for explanation) UPDATE 4/1 - will open the season on the DL

In limbo
RHP Sidney Ponson: UPDATE 3/17 - signed to a minor league deal, he'll get a chance to prove he still has something left in the tank over the next few weeks UPDATE 3/28 - ESPN's Buster Olney is hearing that Ponson could be the #5 behind Kyle Davies and Luke Hochevar UPDATE 3/31 - may have hurt his chances with a bad outing in today's game UPDATE 3/31 - still has a good chance of winning a spot despite today's bad outing UPDATE 4/1 - will be the team's #4 starter UPDATE 4/5 - he won't be called up from AAA until his first start next Friday
RHP Brandon Duckworth: UPDATE 4/2 - still in the mix for a spot in the 'pen UPDATE 4/4 - will not make the team
LHP Tim Hamulack: UPDATE 4/2 - still in the mix for a spot in the 'pen UPDATE 4/4 - will not make the team
RHP Roman Colon: UPDATE 3/22 - has allowed just 1 ER in 9.2 IP with 2 BB's and 9 K's this spring UPDATE 4/3 'doubtful' he makes the team, according to the manager UPDATE 4/4 - will not make the team
OF Shane Costa: UPDATE 4/2 - still in the mix for a bench job UPDATE 4/3 - chances improve with Shealy out of the competition UPDATE 4/5 - designated for assignment (mlb.com transactions page)

Released
LHP Jimmy Gobble: regressed in 2008, posting an 8.81 ERA in 39 relief appearances just one year after breaking through with a 4-1 record and 3.02 ERA in 74 games UPDATE 3/18 - given his unconditional release on Wednesday morning
RHP Joel Peralta: allowed a ridiculous 15 HR's in 52.2 IP in '08 UPDATE 3/18 - with the release of Gobble, there are still quite a few pitchers throwing well this spring that will be vying for a bullpen spot and Peralta is one of them; he's allowed 3 ER in 6.2 IP with 3 BB's and 10 K's UPDATE 4/1 - released by the team

Traded
1B Ross Gload: likely the odd man out with the acquisition of Jacobs; hit .273 with 3 HR's in 2008 UPDATE 4/1 - traded to the Marlins

Reassigned to Minor League Camp
RHP Franquelis Osoria: 27 year-old struggled as a reliever for the Pirates in 2008 with a 6.08 ERA in 43 games UPDATE 3/9 - reassigned to minor league camp
OF Chris Lubanski: UPDATE 3/13 - coming off of a disappointing AAA season but the 24 year-old is starting to turn some heads this spring UPDATE 3/22 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Oscar Villarreal: 27 year-old signed a minor league contract with KC after posting a 5.02 ERA in 35 games for the Astros in 2008
RHP Yasuhiko Yabuta: 35 year-old posted a 4.78 ERA in his first season in the U.S.
OF Tommy Murphy: 29 year-old hit .300 with 42 SB's in AAA in 2008
LHP Heath Phillips: UPDATE 3/6 - enters the competition for a roster spot after pitching three scoreless innings in a recent outing UPDATE 3/18 - chances improve after the release of Gobble; has allowed 3 ER in 11 IP with 2 BB's and 7 K's this spring
LHP Lenny DiNardo: has a 5.66 ERA in 29 career starts and 3.97 ERA in 102 IP in relief UPDATE 3/18 - has thrown 4 shutout innings this spring with 1 BB and 6 K's UPDATED 3/25 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Anthony Lerew: UPDATE 3/18 - signed to a minor league deal after getting released by Atlanta UPDATE 3/25 - reassigned to the minors
1B Ryan Shealy: 29 year-old hit 22 HR's in AAA and 7 HR's in KC in 2008 UPDATE 4/3 - cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA

Optioned to AAA
RHP Carlos Rosa: team's #8 prospect, according to BA, will likely be in the AAA rotation but could help in the bullpen if necessary UPDATE 3/14 - will be converted to a reliever this season but will start in the minors
IF Tug Hulett: hit .284 with 25 HR's and 30 SB's in 223 AAA games over the last two seasons in the Mariners organization; could also be in the mix for the 2B job after being claimed on waivers
1B Kila Ka'aihue: the Jacobs acquisition should keep him in AAA to start the season but if he can repeat his performance from 2008 (.314 BA, 37 HR, 100 RBI between AA and AAA), the 1B job could be his by mid-season
RHP Luke Hochevar: former #1 pick in the draft struggled in his first full ML season, posting a 5.51 ERA and winning only 6 games in 22 starts; will battle Bannister for the last rotation spot after the addition of Ramirez to the rotation UPDATE 3/15 - don't count him out of the competition for the #5 spot yet UPDATE 3/31 - count him out of the competition; he was optioned to AAA
RHP Brian Bannister: was not very good in his second season in KC, posting a 5.76 ERA and losing 16 games UPDATE 3/28 - 'on the bad side of the bubble', according to this article by Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star UPDATE 3/31 - battle for the last two rotation spots is down to Bannister, Ponson, and Ramirez UPDATE 4/1 - optioned to AAA
OF Mitch Maier: UPDATE 4/2 - still in the mix for a bench job UPDATE 4/4 - optioned to AAA