CLEVELAND | Royals infielder Mike Aviles doesn’t like being viewed as a utility player. Hates it, really. And he is open and honest enough not to pretend otherwise.
“I’m not handling it great,” he admitted prior to Friday’s series opener against the Indians at Progressive Field. “I feel I’ve been an everyday player my whole career. And every time I play on an everyday basis, I’ve been able to produce when healthy. “So you know I’m not going to be handling it great because I don’t feel it’s justified. But it is what it is. I have to do it for now and see what happens.”And for now, manager Ned Yost makes clear, Aviles is a backup infielder. The starting jobs belong to second baseman Chris Getz, shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mike Moustakas.“He’s a utility guy off the bench right now,” Yost confirmed. “Esky is going to play shortstop every day. Moose is going to play third base every day. We’ll pick spots for Getzie, and we’ll pick spots here and there for Esky and here and there for Moose.”Aviles started three straight games earlier this week by spelling each of the three starters for one game apiece. Otherwise, he’s found himself relegated to spot duty off the bench in late innings. “I think it’s more of an attitude adjustment,” Yost said. “You look at Mitch Maier. He does it perfectly. You’ve got to do your work in the cage early. You’ve got to take extra ground balls. You’ve got to stay mentally sharp. It’s not an easy task.” It’s an adjustment that Aviles, at 30, isn’t yet willing to make. “I can’t, for myself, be happy with this,” he said. “Because then I’m settling (for being a utility player). And I refuse to settle because I know I can help this team win on an everyday basis. That’s just not the opportunity I have right now.“The team owns my rights and can, basically, do whatever it wants. So I’m stuck right now. I honestly feel like I can produce on an everyday basis. I did it last year. I did it my first year in the big leagues (2008).”Aviles was the Royals’ player of year as a rookie when he batted .325 in 2008 after finally getting a big-league opportunity following a series of strong minor-league seasons. Major elbow surgery wrecked his 2009 season, but Aviles returned ahead of schedule last year and batted .304 in 110 games. That included a late-season kick that included six homers in his final 20 games. He entered this season with a .298 career average. “This year,” he said, “after 25 at-bats, I got put in a platoon role.”Aviles didn’t adapt well to spot duty. His average tumbled to .213 by June 9, which prompted a demotion to Class AAA Omaha. Once there, and given regular duty, Aviles earned his way back by batting .307 in 35 games.But even at Omaha, Aviles saw opportunity passing him by. His path to regaining regular duty with the Royals lay in improving his defensive skills at second base and, eventually, challenging Getz for a starting job. Instead, Aviles found himself playing shortstop, where Escobar is a fixture on the big-league club, because the Royals wanted Johnny Giavotella, one of their top prospects, to play second base at Omaha on a full-time basis. “That’s just how it’s been,” Aviles said. “But good things come to those who wait, and I’ve waited a lot during my career. And you know what? This is no different. Something good is going to come out of this, whether it’s here or…we’ll see what happens.” No progress on Starling The Royals show little progress in negotiations with outfielder Bubba Starling, the multi-sport star from Gardner-Edgerton whom they selected in June with the fifth overall pick in the new-player draft. “I have not had any discussions,” general manager Dayton Moore admitted. “I don’t know where it’s going to go. Nothing surprises me (in negotiations with high draft picks).”Starling is currently taking part in preseason football drills at Nebraska. He is represented by Scott Boras and is believed to be seeking a $10 million signing bonus. The Royals are believed to be offering roughly $7.5 million. The signing deadline for all drafted players except college seniors is 11 p.m. Central time on Aug. 15. Because Starling is a multi-sport athlete, his signing bonus – if both sides agree – can be spread over five years.No retaliation The Royals told starter Jeff Francis there was no need to retaliate for the near-beaning of Billy Butler by Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco. “It’s my job to do that,” Francis said, “but guys came up to me and said, `Just pitch your game, and we’ll take care of this on the field.’” Francis was three outs away from his third career shutout when lifted after eight innings. He had thrown a season-high 115 pitches at the time. “It’s nice to throw complete games,” he said, “but if the manager comes and shakes my hand, I’m not going to put up a fuss. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to go out there and pitch, but it’s a team game.”Six-man rotation for now Yost continues to mull a return to a five-man rotation but plans no adjustments to his six-man unit during the three-game weekend series against the Indians.“I’m not going to make any decisions until the off-day (Monday),” Yost said. “I still think they’d be sharper in a five-man rotation than in a six. We’ll look at it and reevaluate it on the off-day.”The off-day also comes one day after the non-waiver trading deadline.Minor detailsClass AA Northwest Arkansas lefty Chris Dwyer ranks 10th in the latest Prospect Hot Sheet by Baseball America. The ranking covers the period from July 22-28 and is indicated to recognize the top weekly efforts by the game’s top prospects.The magazine’s web site characterizes Dwyer, who has had a generally disappointing season, as this year’s Aaron Crow – except Dwyer is left-handed and relies on curve instead of a slider as his strikeout pitch.Dwyer, 23, allowed one run and three hits in eight innings in his only start in the evaluation period. He also struck out nine and walked one. Overall, Dwyer is 4-9 with a 6.43 ERA in 20 starts.Looking backIt was three years ago Saturday – July 30, 2008 – that Alex Gordon set a single-game franchise record by drawing five walks in a 4-3 victory at Oakland. Gordon has 44 walks this season, which rank second on the club to Billy Butler’s 50. Etc.• The last Royals player to hit homers in four straight games was José Guillen, who had five in a four-game span from April 11-14, 2010. • Melky Cabrera hit the Royals’ first grand slam of the season. Their last slam was by Wilson Betemit on Sept. 15, 2010 in a 6-3 victory over Oakland at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals hit four slams in 2010: one by Betemit and three by Yuniesky Betancourt. • Eric Hosmer extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a double in the first inning. He is batting .442 in the streak with 19 hits in 43 at-bats.• Cabrera’s only other career grand slam also came at Progressive Field. It was on July 5, 2006 while playing for the Yankees against Paul Byrd.• Cleveland had won five previous games between the two teams overall and the last six at Progressive Field. • Shortstop Alcides Escobar went three for four and is batting .314 (49 for 156) over his last 45 games.Read more Royals
Posted on Fri, Jul. 29, 2011 06:06 PM
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Aviles admits he's unhappy with role as utility player
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To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, send email to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.
