The Royals have designated 34-year old righty swinging starting RF Jose Guillen for assignment. Guillen played in 106 games for the Royals this season and he was 101 of 396 (.255 avg, .743 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 16 homers and 62 RBIs. In his three years with the Royals, Guillen played in 340 games in which he was 327 of 1,275 (.256 avg, .727 OPS) with 142 runs scored, 45 homers and 199 RBIs. This was a surprising move by the Royals who hope they can deal him in the next 10 days.

UPDATE: (8/13/2010) - The Royals have dealt Guillen along with some cash for a player to be named later. At least the Royals will be getting something for Guillen rather than just releasing him.

The Royals have traded 27-year old righty swinging catcher Jeff Howell to the Twins for future considerations. Howell played in 50 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Royals this year and he was 42 of 174 (.241 avg, .683 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 4 homers and 27 RBIs. The Royals didn’t have any future plans for Howell so if they get anything for him they will be happy.

The Royals have traded 34-year old righty reliever Kyle Farnsworth, 31-year old outfielder Rick Ankiel and cash to the Braves for 26-year old righty reliever Jesse Chavez, 26-year old outfielder Gregor Blanco and 20-year old lefty reliever Tim Collins. Farnsworth pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Royals this season and he was 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He pitched in 78 games (0 starts) in his two years with the Royals and he was 4-5 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Ankiel played in 27 games for the Royals this year and he was 24 of 92 (.261 avg, .784 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 15 RBIs.

Jesse Chavez will replace Farnsworth in the Royals’ bullpen. Chavez pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Braves this year and he was 3-2 with a 5.89 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 116 games (0 starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 4-7 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Blanco will likely get a lot of P.T. in the Royals’ outfield going forward. Blanco played in 36 games for the Royals this year and he is 18 of 58 (.310 avg, .756 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 204 games in his three years in the majors and he is 134 of 531 (.252 avg, .670 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 1 homer, 42 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Lefty reliever Tim Collins is the key to this deal for the Royals. He was the Blue Jays’ #19 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Collins has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) in AA-ball this year and he is 1-0 with 11 saves, a 2.29 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He has now pitched in 136 games (0 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 14-9 with 28 saves, a 2.35 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Collins has whiffed an amazing 308 batters in only 202 2/3 innings in the minors and he has only given up 132 hits.

I have a feeling this deal will pay off for the Royals down the line.

The Royals have traded 34-year old lefty swinging outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers for 25-year old righty swinging catcher Lucas May and 22-year old righty starting pitcher Elisaul Pimentel. Podsednik played in 95 games for the Royals this season and he was 121 of 390 (.310 avg, .753 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 44 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He did a great job for the Royals this season and he was playing cheap so the Royals must really like what they got in return. Lucas May was the Dodgers’ #17 prospect heading into this season. He played in 80 games in AA+AAA-ball this season and he was 81 of 284 (.285 avg, .816 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 8 years in the minors appearing in 683 games in which he was 666 of 2,559 (.260 avg, .753 OPS) with 382 runs scored, 87 homers, 396 RBIs and 52 stolen bases. Elisaul Pimentel has pitched in 17 games (16 starts) in A-ball this year and he is 9-3 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has only given up 71 hits in 90 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 97 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. Pimentel has now pitched in 51 games (41 starts) in his four years in the minors and he is 16-15 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.

The Royals had designated 27-year old righty starting pitcher Anthony Lerew for assignment. Lerew pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Royals this year and he is 1-4 with a 8.54 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. In his two years with the Royals, he pitched in 9 games (8 starts) in which he was 1-5 with a 7.03 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Lerew gave up 48 hits (13 homers!) in only 39 2/3 innings. He is batting practice plain and simple. Lerew will be replaced in the starting rotation by Sean O’Sullivan who will start against the Yankees on Sunday.