The Royals Are Looking For A Shortstop

It appears that the Royals are just about finished waiting for Angel Berroa to get his act together. Rumors out of Kansas City say that the Royals have a list of about 20 trade candidates to fill their glaring hole at shortstop.

No deal appears imminent, but officials with other clubs say the Royals show a growing urgency to make some sort of move before they open the regular season April 2 against Boston at Kauffman Stadium.

General manager Dayton Moore declined to confirm the search beyond saying: "We're always looking for opportunities to make our team better."

Berroa has yet to show any improvement this spring. All of the agility drills the Royals had Berroa work on during the off-season are not paying any dividends in the field, and he still hasn't shown any discipline at the plate. He's struck out 14 times in 38 at bats while managing only 10 hits, and the funny thing about baseball is, if you can't hit or field you're not likely to get a job anywhere.

Not even in Kansas City.

The Royals are looking for a utility infielder capable of playing the shortstop position until they can figure out what the deal is with prospect Angel Sanchez. Sanchez is dealing with elbow problems and is scheduled to undergo an MRI with Dr. James Andrews (does Dr. Andrews sleep?) next week.

The names that seem to interest the Royals the most are Colorado's Clint Barmes and Toronto's John McDonald. The Royals are one of many teams interested in Barmes (including the Cubs and Rangers), while it's rumored that Toronto is asking a bit too much for McDonald. It's been said that the Royals have also contacted the Angels to inquire about Brandon Wood and Erick Aybar, but there isn't a snowballs chance in hell of seeing that happen.

Previously on The Fanhouse:

Fallen Angel