Tommy Hottovy trade: Former Royals pitcher will miss KC home

Tommy Hottovy was traded to the Texas Rangers for money and a player to be named later on Thursday, six days after he was designated for assignment. The sidearmed lefty played most of the season in Triple-A Omaha, putting together 41 relief appearances, but managed to get up to the Royals a few times and play in nine games with a 2.89 ERA.

Being a rare player that played for his hometown team -- Hottovy is originally from KC -- he enjoyed his time with the team and said after being traded that he was going to miss playing for the club that he watched as a kid:

"It's hard to beat that -- going to games as a kid and then getting to be part of the team and the organization. It's just one of those things that couldn't have worked out any better and I really had a blast in the time that I was here. But teams make moves and the Royals needed a roster spot and it's kind of the way things worked. Fortunately, the Rangers were interested and I'm looking forward to heading down there."

Hottovy had gone through Tommy John surgery in 2008 before finally getting to the majors for the first time in 2011 with the Boston Red Sox, the team that originally drafted him in 2004. He was then traded to the Royals, and will be on his third team in Texas.