Hours before opener, Royals announce 25-man roster, cut Kyle Zimmer, Wily Peralta
The Royals announced their 25-man roster Thursday, hours before the season opener against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
As expected, catcher Salvador Perez, who has a Grade 2 tear in the medial collateral ligament of his left knee, was placed on the 10-day disabled list. The Royals recalled catcher Cam Gallagher from Class AAA Omaha in his stead. Backup Drew Butera will serve as the primary catcher until Perez's return.
Right-hander Nate Karns (right elbow inflammation), infielder Adalberto Mondesi (right shoulder impingement) and outfielder Bubba Starling (left oblique strain) also were put on the 10-day DL.
Pitcher Blaine Boyer and infielder Ryan Goins were added to the roster from Class AAA Omaha. Pitchers Wily Peralta and Kyle Zimmer were designated for assignment to clear space for Boyer and Goins.
The Royals will feature an eight-man bullpen consisting of Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Maurer, Justin Grimm, Boyer, Brad Keller, Burch Smith and left-handers Tim Hill and Brian Flynn.
Opening day starter Danny Duffy and rotation mates Ian Kennedy, Jason Hammel and Jakob Junis make up the remainder of the pitching staff. Lefty Eric Skoglund will take Karns' spot in the rotation for the foreseeable future.
Lucas Duda, Whit Merrifield, Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Cheslor Cuthbert and Goins fill out the list of infielders.
Alex Gordon, Jorge Soler, Jon Jay and Paulo Orlando make up the Royals outfield.
Boyer scattered six hits over his first six Cactus League outings and didn't allow a run in that span. In his seventh appearance on Sunday, the Cubs became the first team to score off Boyer this spring. He was charged three runs.
Goins, the former Blue Jays utility man, averaged .350 with a .420 on-base percentage and nine RBIs this spring. He also drew seven walks and struck out seven times.
The Royals kept Rule 5 acquisitions Smith and Keller on their 25-man roster. Otherwise, they would have had to expose them to waivers or return them to their previous organizations at a cost.
Smith, acquired in December's Rule 5 draft, commanded his mid-to-high-90s fastball well, but he would at times struggle if his outing extended to a second inning. In back-to-back appearances on March 7 and 12, he gave up nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and five walks in four innings.
The Royals decided to pursue Smith after seeing him hit 100 mph in the Arizona Fall League, where he played for the Surprise Saguaros and posted a 3.98 ERA in six starts.
Keller, a fellow Rule 5 pick, was on the Royals’ radar before the Diamondbacks selected him in the eighth round of the 2013 draft out of Flowery Branch High School in Georgia. They were finally able to take him this winter and were pleasantly surprised by his consistency in the Cactus League. Keller allowed three runs on nine hits and four walks with 18 strikeouts in 10 innings this spring.
“Any time you take a Rule 5 pitcher or a Rule 5 player, let alone two, and you’re still trying to make decisions on them at the end of camp, that’s a good thing,” general manager Dayton Moore said last week. “I’ll take that every year. Any time you add a player that challenges you to add him to the roster and creates another decision, that’s a good thing.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Hours before opener, Royals announce 25-man roster, cut Kyle Zimmer, Wily Peralta."