The Royals have placed 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder David DeJesus on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb. DeJesus has played in 91 games for the Royals this season and he was 112 of 352 (.318 avg, .827 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 37 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Royals have called up 26-year old outfielder Alex Gordon to replace DeJesus on the active roster. Gordon has played in 75 games in A+AAA-ball this year and he is 86 of 277 (.310 avg, 1.018 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 14 homers, 46 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He played in 12 games earlier this year with the Royals and he was 6 of 31 (.194 avg, .665 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. The Royals really need Gordon to step up this time around.

UPDATE: David DeJesus will miss the rest of the 2010 season for the Royals. He will have surgery this coming Monday to repair a completely torn ligament in his right thumb. This is a huge blow for the Royals.

The Royals picked up 24-year old righty reliever Kanekoa Texeira on a waiver claim from the Mariners and it appears to have been a good move. Texeira has pitched in 13 games (0 starts) for the Royals so far and he is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has had pinpoint control with the Royals so far as he has only walked 4 batters in 22 2/3 innings. Texeira has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) overall for the Mariners & Royals this season and he was 1-1 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. It looks like the Royals may have a steal in Texeira as he has a nice upside.

28-year old switch-hitting infielder Wilson Betemit will likely see increased P.T. due to the trade of Alberto Callaspo. Betemit has played in 24 games for the Royals this year and he is 21 of 57 (.368 avg, 1.122 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 10 RBIs. He has now played in 540 games in his 8 years in the majors and he is 316 of 1,200 (.263 avg, .773 OPS) with 157 runs scored, 46 homers, 164 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Betemit has always been a decent hitter so he should be able to do a solid job of replacing Alberto Callaspo in the short term.

The Royals have traded 27-year old switch hitting 3B Alberto Callaspo from the Angels for 22-year old righty starting pitcher Sean O’Sullivan and 21-year old lefty starting pitcher Will Smith. Callaspo played in 88 games for the Royals this season and he was 96 of 349 (.275 avg, .718 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 8 homers, 43 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. In his three years with the Royals, Callaspo played in 317 games in which he was 334 of 1,138 (.293 avg, .769 OPS) with 140 runs scored, 19 homers, 132 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Callaspo has been a solid player for the Royals so it was likely tough to trade him but when the Angels offered pitching they had to make this deal. Sean O’Sullivan pitched in 5 games (1 start) for the Angels this year and he was 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. He has now pitched in 17 games (11 starts) in his two years in the majors and he is 5-2 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. O’Sullivan will likely join the Royals’ rotation soon and it will be a nice upgrade at the back end of the rotation. Will Smith was the Angels’ #15 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Smith has pitched in 19 games (all starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball so far this season and he is 5-8 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Smith has pitched in 55 games (52 starts) in his three years in the minors so far and he is 23-15 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Smith has a nice upside and the Royals were fortunate to get both him and O’Sullivan for Callaspo.

The Royals could really use some pitching and that’s what the deal I would propose would bring back to them. First off is Jose Guillen. The Royals want to really move him and the Padres have some major league ready relievers to offer them. I would trade Guillen to the Padres for righty relievers Adam Russell and Ernesto Frieri and I would put them right into the pen. This kind of deal would allow the Royals to call Alex Gordon back up. I would turn around then and deal Kyle Farnsworth and IF/OF Willie Bloomquist to the Tigers for righty relievers Jay Sborz and Casey Fien. Finally I would be willing to flip Mike Aviles to the Rockies for IF/OF Eric Young who has tremendous speed just like his daddy did. The Royals should be looking for pitching in the next couple of weeks.