Royals Add Pitching

[love_that_reefer]

Royals signed RHP Jorge Campillo to a minor league contract.

Campillo, 31, posted a 1-0 record and 4.15 ERA in five games with the Braves this season before hitting the long-term disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. In 2008, he went 8-7 with a 3.91 ERA in 39 appearances (25 starts). It's not a bad signing for Kansas City, especially at such a low cost.

Royals agreed to terms with RHP Brad Thompson on a one-year minor league contract.

As a minor league free agent, Thompson was able to agree to a contract before Friday. The contract doesn't include a spot on Kansas City's 40-man roster, but he stands a pretty good chance of making the roster out of spring training, whether out of the bullpen or as a fifth starter. Thompson, 28, had a 4.36 ERA in parts of five seasons with the St. Louis, including a 4.84 ERA in 32 appearances (eight starts) in 2009.

Royals ranked 26th in team ERA so any help is welcomed. These signings should push some more undeserving guys out of the picture.

[realmofotalk]

I told you Campillo and his one good season at age 30 wasn't worthy of inclusion in a package for Peavy.

[Kingdom]

Are they cornering the market on Mark Hendrickson and Rodrigo Lopez next?

[missionhockey21]

Fun fact, outside of 2008, Jorge Campillo has thrown only 21 innings in Major League Baseball since 2005. Admittedly though, those "other" innings in 2008 were pretty good.

At a MLC though, you can't beat that at all. Good for depth and fallback at least.

[realmofotalk]

Cuban Arguelles agrees to deal with Royals - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Noel Arguelles, a 19-year-old left-hander who last year defected from Cuba, agreed to a five-year, $7 million major league deal with the Royals on Saturday, according to a club source. Arguelles can earn up to $2 million in incentives as well. An official from another team interested in Arguelles said he had been informed a deal was close.

Arguelles’ talent is unquestioned. While his fastball during workouts wasn’t at the 94 mph it reached during his national team days, his changeup remains a potential out pitch and his curveball projects above average as well. Control is Arguelles’ biggest pitfall.

A young lefty with control problems? Yeah, I haven't heard that before.

[Providence A's]

Good signing for the Royals. It may not pan out, but he's sort of like a draft pick and those don't always pan out either. You have to applaud the effort though. I heard the A's were in on him and I was hoping they'd step up, but oh well.

[Foster]

The thing I worry about now though, is this guy really 19?
We've seen it before, when your young player you just signed, isn't as young as you think he is.

I agree with Prov, these international "kids" are just like a draft pick, maybe with a little more big game experience like the Caribbean World Series, Japan Series, or World competitions.

[redsrbetter]

I am not worried about the age so much right now. The guy is still obviously young. I would worry about that more down the line. As for now, I think this is a huge step in the right direction for this team. I don't remember them taking many chances like this.

Their drafts have been pretty decent of late, now this. Hopefully the ship starts turning around.