To create roster space the Royals have trimmed the fat from the roster. They have designated 26-year old righty swinging outfielder Jordan Parraz and pitchers Bryan Bullington, Victor Marte and Luis Mendoza. Parraz played in 123 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 115 of 432 (.266 avg, .760 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 11 homers, 61 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Parraz has now played in 634 games in his 7 years in the minors and he is 672 of 2,324 (.289 avg, .814 OPS) with 366 runs scored, 54 homers, 325 RBIs and 114 stolen bases. With the Royals situation in the outfield right now this move speaks volumes about how they feel about Parraz.

30-year old righty starter/reliever Bryan Bullington pitched in 13 games (5 starts) last season for the Royals and he was 1-4 with a 6.12 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He has now pitched in 26 games (10 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-9 with a 5.62 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. This is addition by subtraction.

30-year old righty Victor Marte was simply awful for the Royals last season. He pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 3-0 with a 9.22 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Marte pitched in 30 games (0 starts) in parts of two years for the Royals and he was 3-0 with a 9.30 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP. Marte walked 27 batters and he also gave up 10 homers in only 39 2/3 innings for the Royals. I say, good riddance.

27-year old righty Luis Mendoza pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 0-1 with a 22.50 ERA and a 3.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 36 games (14 starts) in his four years in the majors and he is 4-9 with a 8.43 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP. The Royals will be a better team without Mendoza in the organization.

UPDATE: (11/24/2010) - The Royals have lost Jordan Parraz on waivers to the Red Sox. Bryan Bullington has signed on to pitch for the Hiroshima Carp next season in Japan.

26-year old righty closer Joakim Soria finished 10th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award. He pitched in 66 games out of the pen for the Royals last season and he was 1-2 with 43 saves, a 1.78 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Soria came to the Royals as a Rule 5 Draft Pick off of the Padres’ roster in 2006! To me he’s already one of the best Rule 5 Picks in the history of major league baseball. Soria has pitched in 238 games (0 starts) in his first four years with the Royals and he is 8-10 with 132 saves, a 2.01 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Soria is the Royals’ version of Mariano Rivera, but he has more pitches than him.

UPDATE: (12/2/2010) - Joakim Soria also finished tied for 19th in the A.L. MVP Award voting with 1B Mark Teixeira of the Yankees.

The Royals have signed 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Brett Carroll to a minor league deal. Carroll played in 32 games for the Marlins last season and he was 15 of 76 (.197 avg, .640 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 173 games in parts of four years in the majors and he is 58 of 283 (.205 avg, .609 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Carroll is a outstanding defensive player but he won’t make the Royals next spring unless he improves as a hitter.

The Royals have signed 27-year old righty reliever Steve Shell to a minor league deal. Shell pitched in 21 games (9 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2009 with the Nationals. Shell has pitched in 43 games (0 starts) in parts of two years in the majors and he is 2-2 with 2 saves, a 2.45 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. This was a good signing for the Royals as Shell has had success in the majors. They will give him a chance to win a job in the bullpen next spring.

The Royals have traded 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder David DeJesus to the Oakland A’s for 24-year old righty starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro and 22-year old lefty starting pitcher Justin Marks. DeJesus played in 91 games for the Royals last season and he was 112 of 352 (.318 avg, .827 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 37 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. DeJesus played in 876 games in 8 years with the Royals and he was 971 of 3,355 (.289 avg, .787 OPS) with 501 runs scored, 61 homers, 390 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. This could be a big loss for the Royals unless they have something else up their sleeves involving bringing in another outfielder. Vin Mazzaro will replace Brian Bannister in the starting rotation. Mazzaro pitched in 24 games (18 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 6-8 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 41 games (35 starts) in two years in the majors and he is 10-17 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. Mazzaro could be a nice grab for the Royals if they can get him to throw more strikes. Justin Marks was the A’s #27 prospect coming into the 2010 season according to Baseball America. Marks pitched in 25 games (24 starts) last season in A-ball and he was 6-13 with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has a good arm though as he whiffed 136 batters in only 129 1/3 innings last season in the minors. Marks has now pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in his two years in the minors and he is 6-14 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. I like the fact that the Royals picked up two live arms but it hurts to see a guy like DeJesus leaving.