Brown Wins Arbitration

Emil Brown is going to make $1.775 million this season. He won his arbitration case and so far, it sounds like no hard feelings exist between Brown and the Royals. That's a good thing. Brown is set to start in left field this season, and with Sanders in right and DeJesus in center, the Royals finally have an outfield that doesn't appear to be better suited for Omaha.

Chip Ambres is said to be the fourth outfielder going into spring training, which unfortunately, makes Aaron Guiel the odd man out—again. Guiel put up huge numbers in Omaha last season (30 HR and 103 RBI), but he's older than Ambres, and is presumed to not be able to play all three outfield positions at the same level as Ambres.

And let's not forget Matt Stairs. With Mientkiewicz sure to cobble up innings playing first base, Stairs will surely experience a diminished role. The Royals have been indicating that this would be the case for the past two seasons, but with all the injuries, and frankly, inability of too many players to perform at a high enough level, Stairs was up for the challenge. He's a great guy to have on the team and I'm sure he'll be ready to go whenever Bell calls upon him.