Thursday the Kansas City Royals announced they have signed veteran third basemen Pedro Feliz to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training (which by the way, pitchers and catchers report in TEN days!).
Feliz is a 35 year old veteran of 11 major league season. Feliz was most recently seen with both the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals last season. Pedro has spent his entire professional career in the National League having spent the majority of his career with the San Francisco Giants, while also having a stint with the Philadelphia Phillies.
I don't know what to make of this deal at the moment, as it can lead to you many different ways of thinking. Hopefully the intent is nothing more than adding protection to Wilson Betemit (or whoever plays third base), so that in case of injury Mike Moustakas doesn't need to come up until June, saving the Royals on service time. The Royals went through a very similar issue in 2007, when Alex Gordon suddenly became the Opening Day starter at third base.
For his career, Feliz is a .250 hitter with a .288 OBP. 2006 was the career year offensively for Feliz when he hit .244 with a .281 OBP along with 22 home runs and 98 RBI. As part of the contract, Feliz will earn $800,000 if he makes the Royals team, with a chance to earn an additonal $200,000 in bonuses.