Royals Notes: Maier & Mahay

• Royals Review has a tremendous idea the Royals need to consider: letting Mitch Maier patrol center field in 2010. I'll let you read the article for yourself, but suffice it to say that Maier's playing time for next year is in jeopardy, but Willie Bloomquist's is not. And so the Royals go.
UPDATE: As I suspected, the Royals released Ron Mahay and he signed with the Twins. The Royals are on the hook for the rest of his 2009 salary and the Twins will pay him a pro-rated portion of the league minimum.

• The Royals made a roster move with their bullpen today when they recalled Yasuhiko Yabuta from Triple-A Omaha. To make room for Yabuta on the 25- and 40-man rosters, veteran left-handed reliever Ron Mahay was designated for assignment.

The 36-year-old Yabuta has disappointed since leaving Japan and signing a two-year contract worth $6 million. He was expected to capably replace the departed David Riske, but threw only 37.2 innings in his rookie season before being demoted. The move was perhaps more indicative of the quality of the Royals 2008 bullpen, as Yabuta posted a decent 89 ERA+. In fact, he was quite good over his last 22 appearances, posting a 2.92 ERA and allowing opposing batters only a .688 OPS.

However, he reclaimed his roster spot by pitching effectively in Omaha in 2009. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of his season is that he struck out 53 batters in 45.2 innings, a significant improvement over last season when he whiffed only 58 in 78 innings between Kansas City and Omaha. Regardless, he remains a fly ball pitcher with underwhelming stuff, so home runs will continue to be a concern.

• For Mahay, the move essentially ends his Royals career, as the Royals will probably release him after he clears waivers. He joined Kansas City when he signed a two-year, $8 million contract before the 2008 season and immediately became an integral part of manager Trey Hillman's bullpen.

In 2008, the 37-year-old had a solid season protecting leads for closer Joakim Soria, as he posted a 3.48 ERA in 64.2 innings of work. He also tied Ramon Ramirez for the club lead with 21 holds.



The 2009 season was not nearly as kind to Mahay. His ERA jumped all the way to 4.79 and he allowed nine home runs in only 41.1 innings, perhaps a sign that age may finally be catching up with him after years of maintaining a constant level of success well into his late-30s.

Interestingly Mahay was let go instead of Roman Colon or John Bale, both of whom have been far less effective. However, it seems the move was not entirely based on performance. The Royals appear to have acted to give Mahay an opportunity to sign with a playoff-bound team before the Sept. 1 roster deadline.

RON MAHAY 2008-2009
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IP     ERA     K     BB     WHIP     ERA+
106   3.99    83     48     1.55     108