The Royals have made a few notable moves this afternoon. They selected the contracts of pitchers Seth Maness and Al Alburquerque, and have designated Christian Colon and Peter O'Brien for assignment in order to make room on the 40 man roster. Royals reliever Jake Junis was also optioned back to AAA Omaha in order to create the second spot on the 25 man big league roster.
Junis was called up after the Royals placed left hander Scott Alexander on the 10 day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Junis pitched in Tuesdays matchup against the Rays, logging a scoreless frame of work and striking out 2. Junis also earned his first Major League win in the contest.
Alburquerque is a 30 year old right hander who spent most of his career with Detroit before playing with the Angels last season. He has a career 3.21 ERA in 227 innings of work with 11 strikeouts per 9 innings. While he produces his fair share of swings and misses, he does have a 5 walk per 9 inning rate, meaning he also puts his fair share of batters on base.
Seth Maness was recently the recipient of a somewhat experimental elbow surgery called "primary repair" that may be an alternative for Tommy John surgery in some situations should it prove successful. His return to the major leagues is several months advanced compared to if he had received the Tommy John procedure instead. Maness has a career 3.19 ERA in 244 games of relief while with the St. Louis Cardinals over parts of 4 seasons. Primarily a contact hitter, the Royals defense could prove beneficial should his surgically repaired elbow hold up.
Christian Colon was a former first round draft pick for the Royals that was never quite able to secure a starting position with the big league club. The 28 year old infielder played parts of 4 seasons in Kansas City and has a career .263/.323/.329 slash in 348 plate appearances. Colon will probably be best known for some of his bigger moments, including big hits in both the 2014 Wild Card game and again in the comeback rally in Houston during the 2015 World Series run.
O'Brien and Colon can now both be claimed off of waivers by other teams. Should they clear waivers, the Royals then have the option to bring them back to the minor leagues. It is also possibly that in the next 10 days, Colon or O'Brien could also still be traded, though their value may not be high enough to expect much, if any, return. O'Brien has shown flashes of incredible power, both in the minor leagues and again in spring training this past March. His downfall has primarily been strikeout rate, as he did have 147 strikeouts in AAA ball last season in just 105 games.
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Nov 1, 2015; New York City, NY, USA; Kansas City Royals pinch hitter Christian Colon reacts after hitting a RBI single against the New York Mets in the 12th inning in game five of the World Series at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
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