The Royals have demoted 1B/DH Billy Butler to AAA ball and they have recalled SS Mike Aviles. Butler played in 53 games for the Royals this season and he was 49 for 186 (.263 avg, .669 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. Ross Gload will likely benefit the most from Butler’s demotion. He has played in 42 games this season for the Royals and he is 27 for 111 (.243 avg, .567 OPS) with 11 runs scored and 9 RBIs. 27-year old righty swinging shortstop Mike Aviles has been recalled to replace Butler on the roster. Aviles has played in 50 games in AAA ball this season and he is 72 for 213 (.338 avg, 1.003 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 10 homers and 42 RBIs. Aviles might push Tony Pena at shortstop for playing time.

The Royals have placed righty reliever Leo Nunez on the 15-day disabled list due to a right lat strain. Nunez has pitched in 21 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he is 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. This will hurt the Royals as Nunez had settled in to the set up role ahead of Joakim Soria. 27-year old lefty Neal Musser has been recalled to take Nunez’ spot in the bullpen. Musser has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 0-4 with 6 saves, a 3.07 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Musser has also whiffed 37 batters in only 29.1 innings this season in AAA. He made his debut in the majors last season pitching in 17 games (0 starts) for the Royals and he was 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP.

The Kansas City Royals are having problems scoring runs which means that they can’t afford to have a no-hit, all field shortstop as their starter. Tony Pena is off to a terrible start to the 2008 season and the Royals need to only only bench him but also send him to the minors to rebuild his confidence. Pena has played in 45 games this season for the Royals and he is 23 for 142 (.162 avg, .388 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The problem for the Royals is that Alberto Callaspo doesn’t appear ready to replace him. Callaspo has played in 27 games this season for the Royals and he is 17 for 64 (.266 avg, .660 OPS)with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense for the Royals to recall 30-year old righty swinging Angel Berroa from the minors and give him another chance. Berroa has played in 44 games in AAA ball this season and he is 50 for 166 (.301 avg, .834 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 8 homers, 21 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has played in 627 games in his major league career and he is 606 for 2,300 (.263 avg, .689 OPS) with 293 runs scored, 45 homers, 245 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. The Royals just can’t go on getting absolutely nothing from the shortstop position offensively so they need to make this change for the betterment of the team.

Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez are doing a fine job in setting up Joakim Soria with a bunch of save opportunites. Ramirez has been working most of the time in the 8th inning. He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) this season for the Royals and he is 0-1 with a 1.77 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has whiffed 24 batters in only 20.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Leo Nunez has coverted to the bullpen full time for the Royals. He has pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the Royals and he is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Nunez has only allowed 11 hits in 19.2 innings this season. If these two guys keep pitching like they are right now, the Royals will win a lot of close games.

The Royals have inked 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Horacio Ramirez to a minor league contract. Ramirez started 20 games for the Mariners last season and he was 8-7 with a 7.16 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Ramirez has now pitched in 106 games (104 starts) in his major league career and he is 38-29 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Royals hope that Ramirez shows the form he did earlier in his career so that they can put him in the rotation eventually.