Montreal (AP)--The Montreal Royals finalized the deal near midnight, sending centerfield reserve Angel Kaat to the Phoenix Gila Monsters for a 2nd-round draft pick in the upcoming free agent draft. The Royals are looking to pick up a backup catcher or a backup outfielder. While possible candidates have not been mentioned, the Royals GM has been taking to centerfielder Andy Van Slyke and catcher Rick Wrona. With their 10th draft pick, the Royals are hoping to draft a solid starter who would be able to pitch in a 3rd or 4th slot in the near future.
Angel Kaat was not too surprised by the move because he heard that a lot of teams were looking for a young reliable centerfielder. In 14 games this season, Kaat racked in a total of 1 home run and 6 RBIs. Although he only batted .167, Kaat got key hits in tight games. Kaat's ratio of ABs to RBIs is about equal to that of Bonilla (1 RBI every 6 ABs). As well, he had the best walk/AB ratio on the team last season. In June, Kaat took over centerfield after Ray Lankford's injury, but was later replaced by Curtis Goodwin.
A trade earlier this month sent Shawon Dunston to the Deadwood Outlaws, in return the Royals acquired lefthand reliever Omar Daal. Daal only pitched 6 1/3 innings last season before being sent down to the minors, but he is expected to provide some depth in the Royals' shaky bullpen. Dunston, a veteran shortstop, went .211 with with 20 RBIs in 101 games last season. The main concern was his defensive liabilities; he commited 8 errors at short and ended up with a poor .970 fielding percentage. In most starts he took the DH role.
