KC Royals Sign Brian Duensing Among Others

The KC Royals continued to add depth yesterday as they signed three players to minor league contracts.

Brian Duensing is the biggest name of the three players to be signed, but all of them should be considered minor signings. Duensing is intriguing for a few different reasons though.

He brings some left handed pitching depth to a team that contains mostly righties. He is an established reliever in the league, but he wasn’t as effective this past season as he’s been in years past. There are some encouraging numbers though.

In the second half of the season, Duensing pitched to a 3.08 ERA and had a 2.88 ERA away from Target Field. If Duensing just needs a roomy place to pitch then Kauffman stadium should prove to be a welcoming environment.

The Royals are a team that thrives on strong team chemistry. Brian Duensing already has good chemistry with one of his Royals’ teammates in Alex Gordon.

Alex and Brian were roommates in college and were in each others’ wedding parties. If Duensing checks out where Gordon is concerned, he should easily fit in with the rest of the team.

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Clint Barmes is a good depth piece that can fill in at both shortstop and second base. Though his bat isn’t what it used to be, he’s still an above average defender. If there is anything the Royals value enough to ignore a poor at-bat it’s a good glove.

Barmes will have to compete with Omar Infante and Christian Colon but would likely only make the team as an emergency infielder if at all.

Ross Ohlendorf is the last piece to join the group. The tall right-handed pitcher has anything but a stellar career, but his numbers have been decent in his last two seasons.

In 2013 with the Nationals, Ohlendorf pitched to a 3.28 ERA across 60 innings of work. He split time as a starter and long reliever and should mostly be considered a ‘swing man’.

He only tallied 19.2 innings for the Rangers in 2015 but managed a 3.78 ERA. That’s not terrible, but when comparing those numbers to the Royals’ bullpen they pale in comparison.

These late moves seem to fill up any remaining ‘holes’ that the Royals may have and give them even more options this spring. There are at least a couple spots up for grabs and a strong showing by any one of these players could land them a roster spot.

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In 2015, the Royals demonstrated the value of having depth. If one player goes down for an extended period of time, the next man up fills in and doesn’t leave a noticeable fall off.

It’s the Royals depth and strong lineup even on the bench that has helped them get as far as they have the past two years.For any other team to lose it’s All-Star left fielder and All-Star closer for a significant portion of time would be ‘up a creek’ so to speak. The Royals have shown they can deal with those adversities.

Next: Royals Options At Starting Pitcher

What do you think of these acquisitions Kc Royals’ fans? Who do you like? Who don’t you like? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.