Royals sign Gordon's brother to Minor League deal
Right-hander appeared in 14 games for independent league T-Bones in 2014
KANSAS CITY -- Left fielder Alex Gordon will have a very familiar face hanging around Spring Training this year. The Royals on Thursday purchased the contract of Gordon's younger brother, Derek, from the Kansas City T-Bones, an independent league team.
Derek Gordon is a 6-foot-6 right-hander who pitched collegiately at Park University in Parkville, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City. While there, the younger Gordon was 24-8 with a 3.35 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 212 innings.
Former Royals outfielder Brian McRae is an assistant coach at Park.
After college, Derek Gordon signed with the T-Bones last summer and went 1-1 with a 6.49 ERA in 14 games.
"Our coaches all have said that Derek was a guy who eventually was going to get a look [by a Major League team]," T-Bones general manager Chris Browne said by phone. "How cool would it be if someday Derek and Alex played on the same Royals team?"
Derek Gordon is expected to arrive at the Royals' Minor League camp starting at the end of February, and he will be assigned at the end of Spring Training.
Another of the Gordon brothers, Brett (named after George Brett), played for Park from 2007-09 and was a three-year letter-winner as an outfielder.