DETROIT | The newest Royal, utilityman Ryan Freel, contends he is fully fit and now only needs regular playing time to prove it.</p><p> &ldquo;Yeah, I&rsquo;m healthy, 100 percent healthy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had that hamstring pull in Chicago, and it took a few weeks (to get healthy). They had me on a rehab assignment for 10 days, and I played well. I came back up and was fine. There were no problems.</p><p> &ldquo;I was put on a maintenance program for my hammies, and I&rsquo;ve been staying on top of that. Right now, I feel great. I&rsquo;m 100 percent. I can&rsquo;t feel any better than I do right now.&rdquo;</p><p> The Royals want to see immediately if a healthy Freel is a productive Freel. He went right into the lineup Tuesday, as the starting center fielder, after being added earlier in the day to the active roster.</p><p> &ldquo;Hopefully, he&rsquo;s as healthy as he says he is,&rdquo; manager Trey Hillman said. &ldquo;Hopefully, he&rsquo;ll have the impact that we hope and desire he will.&rdquo;</p><p> Results were mixed. Freel had a single in three at-bats. He also showed some speed in scoring from first on David DeJesus&rsquo; double to left in the second inning.</p><p> But Freel fueled Detroit&rsquo;s four-run fifth inning when he broke late on Placido Polanco&rsquo;s two-out looper to center field. The ball fell for an RBI single that broke a 3-3 tie.</p><p> &ldquo;That was a big part of the game,&rdquo; Freel said, &ldquo;and I missed it. It&rsquo;s probably one I should have had. I&rsquo;ll probably go home tonight and kick something.&rdquo;</p><p>The Royals acquired Freel in a Monday trade with the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later. They also got cash from the Cubs to defray much of the $2 million that remains on Freel&rsquo;s contract.</p><p> The player going to Chicago, in accordance with baseball rules, will be someone not currently on the 40-man roster.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Hernandez departs</span></strong></p><p> Utility infielder Luis Hernandez was the odd-man out when the Royals needed to clear roster space for Freel. Hernandez, 25, was designated for assignment prior to Tuesday&rsquo;s game.</p><p> The Royals, effectively, chose to keep Tony Pe&ntilde;a over Hernandez since adding Freel made one of the two expendable. Both players are out of options.</p><p> Pe&ntilde;a is batting .089 after striking out in his only at-bat Tuesday but is generally viewed as the better defensive player. Hernandez, a switch-hitter, batted .204 with 10 hits in 49 at-bats in 22 games after arriving May 3 from Class AAA Omaha.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Inury news</span></strong></p><p> Right fielder Jos&eacute; Guillen left Tuesday&rsquo;s game after an RBI single in the sixth inning because of tightness in both legs.</p><p> &ldquo;My right groin is really tight and very sore,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This is a problem I&rsquo;ve got to fix one way or the other. I can&rsquo;t keep going with this. It&rsquo;s on and off all of the time.&rdquo;</p><p> Guillen said the problem has bothered him to a varying degree for several weeks.</p><p>&bull;Shortstop Mike Aviles is scheduled to undergo reconstructive-elbow surgery today in Los Angeles. The Royals shifted Aviles on Tuesday from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list. The move clears a space on the 40-man roster.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Rest for Soria</span></strong></p><p> Joakim Soria got the night off after registering saves in the three previous games and showing no lingering effect of the strained right rotator cuff that limited him through the season&rsquo;s early weeks.</p><p> Still, the Royals remain cautious.</p><p> &ldquo;Shaking hands (Monday) night,&rdquo; Hillman said, &ldquo;I told him I would not use him (Tuesday).&rdquo; </p><p> Soria has posted saves on three consecutive days on three previous occasions in his career. He has never had four in four days.