In addition to reconfiguring their roster Friday, the Royals promoted three in their Baseball Operations Department.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore announced these three moves: Rene Francisco to Assistant General Manager-International Operations, Scott Sharp to Director of Player Development and Kyle Vena to Assistant Director of Player Development.

“I am extremely proud of the great work by our Scouting and Player Development departments,” Moore said in a release. “Rene, Scott and Kyle have been instrumental in our success and we look forward to their continued leadership in these vital roles.”

Francisco, who joined the Royals in 2006 as special assistant to the General Manager/International Operations, has helped the Royals secure players such as catcher Salvador Perez.

Sharp, a native of Sykesville, Md., joined the Royals organization in 2006 as assistant director of player development and was promoted to director of minor league operations in 2008. The Royals' farm system was ranked first in 2011, according to Baseball America.

Vena, a Kansas City native who just finished his 17th season in the organization, has worked the last two seasons as assistant to player development and scouting. Vena began his career as a batboy before moving to assist day-to-day clubhouse operations and then made the transition to baseball operations in 2005.

“Scott has done an excellent job leading our player development department and has earned the complete respect of our staff,” Royals’ Assistant General Manager-Scouting & Player Development J.J. Picollo said in a release. “We are confident he will build on the success that we’ve established with player development the past several years.

“Kyle has an excellent understanding of both the draft and player development and this new position will allow him to develop new creative ideas to improve all areas of the department. This position fits his strengths and abilities well and we’re delighted that he will continue to be an asset to the organization.”

| Pete Grathoff, pgrathoff@kcstar.com