KC Royals: Brandon Finnegan, Eight Others Optioned To Minors

The KC Royals assigned nine players to the minor leagues on Sunday, including October call-up Brandon Finnegan to AA Northwest Arkansas. The moves leave the Kansas City Royals with 37 players in major-league camp with two weeks to go until Opening Day on April 6.

Along with Finnegan, the KC Royals optioned outfielder Terrance Gore to High A Wilmington, outfielder Rey Fuentes to AAA Omaha, pitchers Yohan Pino and Michael Mariot to AAA Omaha, infielder Cheslor Cuthbert to AAA Omaha, and catcher Francisco Pena to AAA Omaha. Center fielder Brett Eibner and catcher Parker Morin also moved over to minor league camp.

The big news is Brandon Finnegan option to AA Northwest Arkansas, because the KC Royals considered having Finnegan reprise his role as bullpen lefty to begin the season. That possibility became more acute after Tim Collins suffered a torn elbow ligament and underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery earlier in camp.

Brandon Finnegan made news last season, becoming the first player in major-league history to appear in both the College World Series and the major-league World Series in the same season.

After getting drafted in the 17th overall in the first round of the June draft, Finnegan zoomed through three minor-league levels before earning a September call-up to Kansas City. Brandon Finnegan performed well in seven appearances, posting an ERA of 1.29 and winning a spot on the playoff roster.

Finnegan made even more noise in the post-season, pitching for the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card game, ALDS, ALCS, and the World Series. He impressed observers with both his stuff, and his poise for a 21-year-old rookie.

Finnegan, however, showed he wasn’t exactly sharp in KC Royals camp in Surprise, with an 8.53 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched spread out over four appearances this spring. Given Brandon Finnegan’s struggles, and solid spring performances from veteran left-handed reliever Franklin Morales and Brian Flynn, Finnegan’s demotion appeared to be a foregone conclusion.

Manager Ned Yost told MLB.com writer Barry Bloom on Sunday:

"“We just thought it was better for him to go down. He had a huge workload last year,” Yost said. “He hasn’t been real sharp in Spring Training. Just get him back down, get him going again. And have him ready for whenever we need him.”"

Francisco Pena‘s demotion leaves Eric Kratz as the KC Royals backup catcher. Moving Reymond Fuentes, Terrance Gore, and Brett Eibner to the minors leaves Jarrod Dyson, Moises Sierra, and Paulo Orlando fighting for reserve outfielder roles in Kansas City.

Dyson will be in Kansas City barring injury. Sierra and Orlando only have a chance to make the club if general manager Dayton Moore decides to keep two outfielders rather than two middle infielders due to Omar Infante‘s elbow issues, or carry rule-5 pick Jandel Gustave as an eighth reliever.

Next: Five Key Offensive Players For The KC Royals In 2015

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