Royals add Ryan Verdugo to 40-man roster ahead of tonight’s deadline

The Kansas City Royals today announced the club has selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Ryan Verdugo.  The move sets the Royals’ 40-man roster at 39 for the offseason reserve list deadline which occurs at midnight ET tonight.

Verdugo, 24, was acquired from the San Francisco Giants with left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez on November 7 in exchange for outfielder Melky Cabrera.  He was 8-6 with a 4.35 ERA in 25 starts for Double-A Richmond in 2011, his first season as a starter in the minor leagues.  The 6-foot, 193-pounder is 21-7 with a 3.14 ERA in 101 career minor league appearances, including 26 starts.  Verdugo, a resident of Baton Rouge, La., has allowed 185 hits in his 234.1 career innings, striking out 300.  The Giants’ ninth-round pick in 2008 was a teammate of current Royals reliever Louis Coleman when the two played at Louisiana State University.

The Royals current 40-man roster is listed below.

Pitchers (20)                                          

Nate Adcock                                           
Noel Arguelles                                        
Louis Coleman                                        
Tim Collins                                              
Aaron Crow                                             
Danny Duffy                                            
Kelvin Herrera                                          
Luke Hochevar                                         
Greg Holland                                            
Jeremy Jeffress                                         
Aaron Laffey                                            
Vin Mazzaro                                            
Luis Mendoza                                          
Sean O’Sullivan                                        
Felipe Paulino                                          
Jonathan Sanchez                                     
Joakim Soria                                            
Everett Teaford                                        
Ryan Verdugo                                          
Blake Wood                                           

Catchers (3)                                            

Brayan Pena                                            
Salvador Perez                                        
Manuel Pina
                                          
Infielders (9)                                     

Jeff Bianchi                                             
Billy Butler                                           
Alcides Escobar                                       
Chris Getz                                              
Johnny Giavotella                                  
Eric Hosmer                                      
Mike Moustakas                                     
Yamaico Navarro                               
Clint Robinson                                          

Outfielders (7)                                        
Lorenzo Cain                                            
Jarrod Dyson                                           
Jeff Francoeur                                           
Alex Gordon                                           
David Lough                                          
Mitch Maier                                              
Derrick Robinson