27-year old lefty swinging LF Alex Gordon finished 21st in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award in 2011. Gordon played in 151 games for the Royals last year and he was 185 of 611 (.303 avg, .879 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 23 homers, 87 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He has now played in 559 games in his first five years with the Royals and he was 537 of 2,053 (.262 avg, .777 OPS) with 295 runs scored, 68 homers, 248 RBIs and 46 stolen bases. The Royals are glad that Gordon started to show off the ability they knew he had in 2011.

The Royals have signed 26-year old lefty swinging IF/OF Eric Duncan to a minor league deal. Duncan played in 103 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 96 for 351 (.274 avg, .849 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 22 homers, 62 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 954 games in his first 9 years in the minors and he is 851 for 3,248 (.248 avg, .733 OPS) with 453 runs scored, 105 homers, 491 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Duncan will get a shot to win a bench job with the Royals next spring.

22-year old lefty swinging 1B Eric Hosmer finished in 3rd place in the A.L. Rookie of the Year Voting. He played in 128 games for the Royals last year and he was 153 of 523 (.293 avg, .799 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 19 homers, 78 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. If Hosmer would have made the Royals out of spring training, he might have been the Rookie of the Year. The ball flies off of Hosmer’s bat and he’s going to be a force offensively for the Royals for a very long time.

The Kansas City Royals dealt starting CF Melky Cabrera earlier today, opening up CF for 25-year old righty swinging Lorenzo Cain. Cain played in 6 games for the Royals last year and he was 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .623 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. He also played in 128 games in AAA-ball for the Royals last year and he was 152 for 487 (.312 avg, .877 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 16 homers, 81 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Cain was acquired last winter from the Brewers in the big Zack Greinke deal. It’s now his time to shine. Cain has played in 49 games in parts of two years in the majors and he is 51 for 169 (.302 avg, .745 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 7 stolen bases.

The Kansas City Royals have acquired 29-year old lefty starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and 24-year old lefty starter Ryan Verdugo from the San Francisco Giants for 27-year old switch-hitting CF Melky Cabrera. Sanchez pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the Giants last year and he was 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 174 games (118 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 38-46 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has only given up 607 hits while whiffing 736 batters in his first 708 innings in the majors, which is pretty darn impressive. But, Sanchez has had big time control issues with 376 walks so far in his game. He has a huge upside if the Royals can convince him to attack the strike zone with his quality pitches. Ryan Verdugo came into last season as the Giants’ #25 prospect. He pitched in 25 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Giants last year and he was 8-6 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has now pitched in 101 games (26 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 21-7 with 3 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Verdugo has only given up 185 hits in his first 241 1/3 innings in the minors, while whiffing 300 batters. Like Sanchez though, Verdugo has issues with control as he has walked 122 batters so far in his minor league control. He has a nice upside for the very near future. Melky Cabrera turned in a outstanding season for the Royals last year. He played in 155 games for the Royals last year and he was 201 for 658 (.305 avg, .809 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 18 homers, 87 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Royals sold on Carbera, who was coming off a career year.