The Royals have claimed 23-year old righty starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez off waivers from the Red Sox. Hernandez pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 10-9 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched six seasons in his minor league career working in 137 games (134 starts) and he is 46-45 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Hernandez was once a very highly thought of prospect so the Royals will give him a chance to win a job on the pitching staff this spring.

The Royals have designated 25-year old righty swinging SS/3B Mario Lisson for assignment to make room on the roster for Rick Ankiel. Lisson played in 131 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 108 for 475 (.227 avg, .656 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 14 homers, 60 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Lisson has now played in 672 games in his minor league career and he is 610 for 2,403 (.254 avg, .737 OPS) with 367 runs scored, 63 homers, 344 RBIs and 144 stolen bases. The Royals shouldn’t miss Lisson too much in the future if at all.

The Royals have signed 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Rick Ankiel to a 1-year, $3.25 million dollar deal with a mutual option worth $6 million bucks for the 2011 season. Ankiel played in 122 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 86 for 372 (.231 avg, .672 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 11 homers, 38 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 342 games in his major league career and he is 262 for 1,044 (.251 avg, .763 OPS) with 155 runs scored, 49 homers, 157 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Signing Ankiel will have a domino effect on the team as Jose Guillen will now serve as the DH with Billy Butler now starting at 1B. Having Ankiel, DeJesus and Podsednik in the outfield should really improve the defense there as all three of them have been starting center fielders in the major leagues.

The Royals have signed 39-year old righty reliever Matt Herges to a minor league deal. Herges pitched in 30 games (0 starts) with the Indians and Rockies last season in which he was 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has now pitched in 567 games (4 starts) in his major league career and he is 43-35 with 34 saves, a 3.91 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Herges could help out the Royals out of the pen in 2010 so this was a nice low risk signing for them.

The Royals have designated 25-year old switch-hitting shortstop Luis Hernandez for assignment. Hernandez played in 37 games for the Royals last season and he was 15 for 73 (.205 avg, .476 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. In this three years in the majors, Hernandez has played in 103 games in which he is 54 for 221 (.244 avg, .560 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Royals needed Hernadez’ roster spot for Scott Podsednik. The Royals won’t miss Hernandez much as he just can’t hit the ball.