Burgos Traded for Bannister

The trade for Brian Bannister when through this morning, and Ambiorix Burgos is now a New York Met. Some will probably say that the Royals were premature in dealing Burgos away—that he was brought to the big leagues too early and that he hasn’t had a chance to mature yet. All of those things may be true, but he’s wild and doesn’t seem all that interested in toning down his speed to gain a little control. I wish him well, but frankly, I’m glad he’s gone.

I love Bannister’s minor league numbers. Now we’ll see if he can perform consistently at the big league level. Bannister will join the Royals’ rotation that currently includes Odalis Perez, Jorge De La Rosa, and Luke Hudson. Hardly a rotation that is going to strike fear in opposing hitters—primarily because it’s missing a number one and number two guy.

Perez was hardly lights out in his twelve starts for the Royals. De La Rosa looked shakey and I’m not all that sure he’s even ready for the big leagues yet. Hudson was up and down, but still ended up being one of our most solid starters. If the Royals sign Miguel Batista, that’ll leave Runelvys Hernandez and Zack Greinke out of the rotation and it’ll probably shut the door on Mark Redman’s return to the Royals.

Scott Elarton will figure into the mix when he returns in June. And of course, Luke Hochevar is waiting in the wings.