Royals acquire Fuentes; set 40-man roster ahead of tonight's deadline
KANSAS CITY, MO (November 20, 2014) - The Kansas City Royals announced several moves today to set the club's 40-man roster for the offseason reserve list deadline, which occurs at midnight ET tonight.
The club has acquired outfielder Reymond Fuentes from the San Diego Padres in exchange for left-handed pitcher Kyle Bartsch. Additionally, the Royals have selected the contracts of outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and infielder Orlando Calixte, adding them to the 40-man roster.
Fuentes, 23, split the 2014 season between San Antonio (AA) and El Paso (AAA) in the Padres' system. He hit .324 (55-for-170) with six doubles, two triples, four homers and 12 stolen bases in his first 42 games to earn a promotion to Triple-A, where he batted .261 with nine doubles, three triples, a homer and 13 steals in 46 contests. He played in 23 games at the Major League level for San Diego in 2013, batting .152 with four runs scored and three stolen bases. Fuentes was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round (28th overall) of the 2009 Free Agent Draft.
Bonifacio, 21, spent the 2014 season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, playing in 132 games for the Naturals, batting .230 with 20 doubles, four triples, four homers and 51 RBI. He was named the Royals' No. 4 prospect heading into last season by Baseball America and earned a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training. He is the younger brother of former Royal Emilio Bonifacio, and was signed as a non-drafted free agent on December 9, 2009.
Calixte, 22, also spent the entire 2014 season at Northwest Arkansas, batting .241 with 15 doubles, a triple, 11 homers and 43 runs scored in 96 games for the Naturals. He was selected to the Texas League All-Star Game on June 24 in North Little Rock, after hitting .273 during the first half of the season. The shortstop was signed as a non-drafted free agent on August 28, 2010.