[benp28]

International Amateurs

We just completed our monthly private practice with many young international amateur free agents who we hope can aid our club in the coming years. It was great to meet the players in-person and get to know them better, and I was able to improve my scouting assessment on all invitees.

In fact some of the players impressed me, since they showcased a higher potential than I had previously expected from them:

Esteban Aguirre, 16 year-old LF out of Venezuela
Esteban Aguirre is a long, lean athletic left fielder who was born in Filas de Mariche, Venezuela. He has a quick bat that handles most fastballs, but off-speed stuff can challenge him. He has raw above average power. His eye grades out as above average. Aguirre has the talent to flourish as a left fielder.

Jesus Ayala, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Jesus Ayala is a long, lean athletic third baseman who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has a chance to be an above average hitter with a loose, quick stroke that works inside the ball. His speed allows him to stretch his hits. He has an advanced feel for the strike zone. Ayala has potential to unleash his obvious talent both on the field and at the plate.

It was a great practice and none of the invitees disappointed in showcasing their talent.

And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Jesus Barreiro, 16 year-old 3B out of Cuba
Esteban Della Vedova, 17 year-old RF out of Venezuela
Alexis Guadalupe, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Luis Godoy, 16 year-old 2B out of Venezuela
Nelson Arellano, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Juan Hueramo, 16 year-old CF out of Venezuela
Alejandro Medina, 17 year-old 3B out of Venezuela
Jesus Palma, 16 year-old LHP out of Panama

Development Lab

Jadon Tezeno has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at shortstop.

• No noticeable changes (poor)

Chris Kern has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at center field.

Estanislau Covete has completed his training in the development complex, and as you are aware, he has been working with staff to improve his defense at third base.

• No noticeable changes.

Rule 5 Draft Trades & 42-man Changes

Trades

Tuesday, December 18th , 2046
Traded 22-year old minor league SS Edgar Arriaga, 24-year old minor league 2B Julio Rosario, 21-year old minor league 2B Eytor Avilez, 24-year old minor league LHP Estivinson Nosrati, 24-year old minor league 2B Juan Medina, and 24-year old RHP Tim Hoffman to the Chicago White Sox, getting 24-year old RHP Chase Paggett and 17-year old minor league 2B Federico Bejarano in return.
Wednesday, December 19th , 2046
Traded 24-year old minor league CF Sergio Rulz to the Atlanta Braves, getting 20-year old minor league CF Mauricio Ramos in return.
Friday, December 21st , 2046
Traded 21-year old minor league 2B Nelson Aguirre to the Washington Nationals, getting 23-year old minor league C Dave Forester in return.

42-man Roster Additions

Saturday, December 8th , 2046
Placed CL Chris Curry on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF A.J. Terry on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed SP Mike Krebs on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed 3B DeMario Zamano on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Tuesday, December 18th , 2046
Placed RP Chase Paggett on the active roster.
3B Juan Colunga was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
1B Robby Moll was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
RP Mike Gaytan was designated for assignment and placed on waivers.
Placed SS Joe Hyatt on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed CF Chad Ketcham on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed 2B Chad Hart on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Placed 2B Argenys Walter on the secondary (42-man) roster.
Wednesday, December 19th , 2046
Placed SP David San Juan on the secondary (42-man) roster.

Rule 5 Draft Transactions

Monday, December 24th , 2046
Lost C Ismael Rivas in the Rule 5 Draft to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Lost RF Juan Escobedo in the Rule 5 Draft to the Cincinnati Reds.
Lost SP Alvaro Flores in the Rule 5 Draft to the San Antonio Avalanche.

Free Agents Signings

The Royals were in conversation with several Free Agents but ultimately either couldn’t agree an appropriate length of contract or felt like the salary didn’t provide value for money. Several former Royals signed contracts with new teams, causing distress to loyal Kansas City fans seeing Dan Nichols, Chris Kuehn and Luis Minnelli departing; however, the Royals will have two supplementary first round picks due to the size of Kuehn and Minnelli’s contracts.