Royals Trade For Pitcher Ervin Santana

Just hours after announcing that the club had declined an option on closer Joakim Soria, the Royals announced another deal concerning a pitcher. Kansas City has made a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, acquiring right-handed pitcher Ervin Santana for minor league left-hander Brandon Sisk. The Royals also acquired $1 million in cash with the deal.

Santana has been a regular in the Angels’ rotation since 2005, going 96-80 with a 4.33 ERA. He has been extremely durable during this stretch, starting at least 23 games in eight consecutive seasons. The righty struggles last season, finishing with a 9-13 record with a 5.16 ERA while allowing a league-leading 39 home runs. Santana did pitch well in the final two months of the season, hopefully showing that he has put his struggles behind him and can pitch like he did earlier in his career.

Santana only has one year remaining on his contract, and it appears that the Royals have not discussed any long-term deals with him at this time. This might be a wait-and-see situation for Kansas City, mostly due to Santana’s inconsistency. The pitcher is a former all-star who once looked like one of the best in the game, yet really regressed in the early portion of the 2012 season.

Sisk spent last season in Triple-A Omaha, going 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA and also recording eight saves. The Angels didn’t have room for Santana in their starting rotation, and it is believed that Sisk may be an addition to their struggling bullpen.

It is hard to gauge this trade for the Royals. While the team does need some starting pitching, the acquisition of Jonathan Sanchez – who was downright horrible last season – is still on many Royals fans’ minds. However, the club has shown a knack for helping struggling pitchers find a second life in Kansas City, and Santana did pitch well at the end of last season. The Royals new acquisition has one year left on his contract to prove that he still has the stuff that once made him one of the better starters in the majors.

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Royals' Guthrie Poor In Debut Against Twins

During the offseason, the Royals made one of the worst trades in recent baseball history. The team sent Melky Cabrera packing, trading the future 2012 All Star game MVP to the Giants for pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. This season, Cabrera has been one of the better hitters in baseball, while Sanchez was a complete disaster - a 7.76 ERA in 12 starts, one win and six losses. The trade could very well spell the end for Dayton Moore in Kansas City. The Royals finally cut ties with Sanchez, trading him on Friday for Jeremy Guthrie.

Unfortunately for Kansas City, Guthrie really hasn't been any better than Sanchez this season, and his debut today mirrored his results from earlier this year. Guthrie lasted only five innings, giving up five runs in a 7-5 loss to the Twins and falling to 3-10 on the season with a 6.49 ERA. Hopefully a change of scenery pays off for Guthrie, but his career as a Royal currently got off to a rocky start.

Starting pitching has been a huge problem for the team since the All Star break. On the Royals 10 game homestand, the team's rotation had a 7.38 ERA, a big reason why Kansas City is 3-7 despite facing an easy schedule. Injuries have really decimated this group, and its hard to see the team ever getting back in contention now.

The lone bright spot for the Royals was Billy Butler, who belted his 19th homer of the season. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas have continued to hit and get on base as well, and the team's young core has steadily produced runs since the All Star break. We'll see if the Royals pitching can improve enough to support the team's offense.

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Royals Win 15 Inning Marathon Against Cardinals

Yuniesky Betancourt blasted a two-run home run in the 15th, giving the Royals a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The win improved Kansas City’s record to 29-35 on the season, and the Royals have now won five of their last six games and trail the Chicago White Sox by only five games in the AL Central standings.

Betancourt wound up the hero, despite not even starting the game. He was forced into action when Chris Getz suffered a leg injury in the first inning. Betancourt nearly ended the game in the fourteenth inning, when his RBI double gave Kansas City a 3-2 lead. However, Jonathan Broxton blew the save and the game continued.

Before Betancourt’s heroics, Billy Butler had the game’s biggest hit. Butler hit a pinch-hit home run to tie the game in the ninth inning, his 12th blast of the season. Kansas City also got a bizarre contribution from Alex Gordon, who drew a franchise record five walks in the game. Gordon has now drawn five walks in a game twice, the only Royal in club history to achieve this feat.

While Betancourt and Butler stole the headlines with their homers, Kansas City would not have been in the game if it wasn’t for some strong pitching. Luis Mendoza pitched six strong innings, only allowing two runs while striking out five and only allowing one walk. The Royals’ bullpen also pitched well, as the Cardinals did not record a run between the sixth and fourteenth inning.

The Royals continue their interleague schedule tonight, when they will travel to Houston to begin a series with the Astros. Jonathan Sanchez (1-2) will start for Kansas City, while J.A. Happ (4-7) will start for Houston. The Royals have won seven of their last ten games against the Astros.

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Loss To Red Sox Highlights Royals' Pitching Woes - Kansas City News

After splitting four games with the New York Yankees, the Royals began another AL East series last night against the Boston Red Sox. Once again, Jonathan Sanchez failed to last deep into the game, and Kansas City lost 11-5. - Kansas City News

Sanchez’s struggles are not unique to the Royals pitching staff – Kansas City’s pitchers are averaging fewer than five innings per start, which is the worst in MLB. Early in the season, it appeared that starting pitching might be a strength for Kansas City; however with the recent struggles of the staff, most notably Luke Hochevar, Danny Duffy appears to be the only starter who can keep opposing offenses from lighting up the scoreboard. - Kansas City News

The poor pitching wasted a decent outing from the Royals offense, who managed to keep pace with the Sox until Boston scored four runs in the eighth to put the game away. The loss drops Kansas City to 9-19 on the season, eight games out of first place in the AL Central.

Kansas City will face Boston in game two of the series tonight at 7:10 p.m. Duffy (2-2) will get the start for the Royals, while Daniel Bard (2-3) will take the mound for the Red Sox. - Kansas City News

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