The release of Lough comes as a surprise, as the 27-year-old has put
together an impressive spring. Lough is 20 for 44 in 24 spring games, and many
felt he could be a replacement for the struggling Jeff Francoeur. The team currently
plans on having four outfielders on its major league roster: Francoeur, Alex
Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson.
Many Kansas City fans have voiced their displeasure with Francoeur, who
struggled from the plate last season and has had a poor spring. If the veteran
gets off to another slow start this season, Lough could be brought up to
replace him. Lough also provides some nice insurance should one of the team’s
other infielders suffer an injury.
The decision to release Nady and Sherrill rather than assigning them to
the minor leagues makes both veterans free agents, however Kansas City is
expected to attempt to re-sign the pair. Sherill is recovering from Tommy John
surgery and has yet to pitch this spring. The Royals are hopeful that he could
return to game action sometime in May. Nady has battled a foot injury this
spring, and saw limited action in 13 games.
The win over the Dodgers gave the Royals a club-record 22nd
spring win. Kansas City has been impressive all of spring training, compiling a
22-6-1 record fueled by strong hitting from several young players and
impressive pitching from its off-season acquisitions. The team will face the Seattle
Mariners at 3:05 p.m. today. Bruce Chen will get the start for Kansas City –
his last chance to impress the coaching staff in his battle for the fifth
starter spot with Luis Mendoza. Mendoza will be starting for Kansas City on
Wednesday.
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