The Royals on Thursday activated OF Rick Ankiel to the big league roster. Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk has one simple question: Why?
↵↵↵The Royals are about to call up Rick Ankiel from Omaha, where he has put up a batting line of .270/.281/.556 in 63 at bats while rehabbing. Meanwhile, Alex Gordon is batting .315/.442/.577 in 260 at bats since being sent down, presumably to learn left field.
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Query: given Ankiel's injury history and his own defensive limitations,
Maybe the Royals are trying to move Ankiel, he suggests. This would give them an opportunity to "showcase" him even that scenario is a little hard to believe considering Ankiel has missed three months of the season.
↵Calling up Ankiel could potentially hurt the Royals in the long run if it's holding back at-bats for Gordon. Ned Yost has previously suggested Ankiel is likely to stay in the minor leagues for a while. It's possible he's a September call-up.
↵There are reports that most teams are looking at David DeJesus at the MLB trade deadline as a corner outfielder and not a center fielder so perhaps the motivation was to get Ankiel back in center and move DeJesus (pre-hand injury) to right field where teams could get a better look at him.
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