The Royals have placed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Felipe Paulino on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to a sore right elbow. Paulino pitched in 21 games (20 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has now pitched in 86 games (54 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 10-31 with a 5.28 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. The Royals hope that Paulino can return soon as possible as he pitched decent for them last year. Luis Mendoza will fill in for the Royals in the starting rotation until Paulino is ready to return to action.

The Royals have placed 26-year old righty reliever Blake Wood on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26th due to an irritated ulnar nerve in his right elbow. He will likely be out around a month. Wood pitched in 55 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 5-3 with 1 save, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 106 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Royals and he is 6-6 with 1 save, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Royals have a loaded bullpen, so they should be o.k. until Wood is ready to return to action.

27-year old righty closer Joakim Soria is going to miss the entire 2012 season as he needs Tommy John Surgery. Soria pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 5-5 with 28 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He will be replaced as the closer be either 27-year old righty Jonathan Broxton (84 career saves) or Greg Holland (4 career saves). Broxton is likely going to be the closer at the start of the 2012 season for the Royals due to his experience in the role. That being said, this is a big blow to the Royals as before last year, Soria was one of the best closers in all of baseball.

UPDATE: (4/6/2012) - The Royals have placed Joakim Soria on the 15-day disabled list.

21-year old starting catcher Salvador Perez is going to miss the start of the 2012 season as he needs surgery to repair a torn left meniscus. Perez played in 39 games for the Royals last year and he was 49 of 148 (.331 avg, .834 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. He will be likely replaced in the starting lineup by 30-year old Brayan Pena. Pena played in 72 games for the Royals last year and he was 55 of 222 (.248 avg, .625 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs.

UPDATE: (3/17/2012) - Salvador Perez is going to miss the first 12-14 weeks of the 2012 season. This is a major blow for the Royals.

UPDATE: (3/20/2012) - The Royals have placed Salvador Perez on the 60-day disabled list.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Manuel Pina will miss the next four weeks after undergoing knee surgery. He played in 4 games for the Royals last year and he was 3 for 14 (.214 avg, .624 OPS) with 2 runs scored. Pina also played in 71 games in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 52 for 218 (.239 avg, .737 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 5 homers and 28 RBIs. Pina won’t have time to compete for a job on the Royals’ roster when he returns to action, so look for him to start the 2012 season in AAA-ball.

UPDATE: (3/20/2012) - The Royals have placed Manuel Pina on the 60-day disabled list.