Royals Select Bobby Witt Jr., DFA Daniel Tillo, Finalize Opening Day Roster
Now that spring training has concluded and a scheduled Wednesday workout has passed, the Kansas City Royals are officially ready for Opening Day.
It's a highly-anticipated season for the Royals, who are looking to defy the odds and outperform their projections in 2022. The club has plenty of young talent either already at the major league level or slated to join their peers soon. They have a developing starting rotation headlined by veteran Zack Greinke, as well as a flamethrowing bullpen and a lineup that could be poised for an improvement this year.
On Thursday, the Royals are at Kauffman Stadium and will be hosting their American League Central rivals, the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have a rock-solid pitching staff and will be aiming to stay afloat well enough to compete in a top-heavy division. Shane Bieber takes the mound for the third year in a row as the Guardians seek an Opening Day road win before an off day and three more games following that to close out the first series of the year.
Here's how the Royals will line up in this afternoon's game:
Starting Pitchers
Kansas City: RHP Zack Greinke (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Cleveland: RHP Shane Bieber (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Kansas City Royals Starting Lineup
- Whit Merrifield (R) - RF
- Bobby Witt Jr. (R) - 3B
- Andrew Benintendi (L) - LF
- Salvador Perez (R) - C
- Carlos Santana (S) - 1B
- Hunter Dozier (R) - DH
- Adalberto Mondesi (S) - SS
- Michael A. Taylor (R) - CF
- Nicky Lopez (L) - 2B
Bobby Witt Jr. makes it official
Speculation ceased after the team announced that Bobby Witt Jr. would be making the roster to open the season, but it remained to be seen whose spot he would be taking on the 40-man roster. On Thursday morning, the club announced that left-handed pitcher Daniel Tillo would be designated for assignment. This opens a spot for Witt just in time for Opening Day.
Tillo, 25, has pitched in 85 games with the Royals' minor league affiliates thus far in his professional career. He boasts a 15-20 record with a 4.25 ERA and 244 strikeouts in 330-2/3 innings. The University of Kentucky alum made it up to Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2021, tossing 22-1/3 innings of ball with a 4.63 ERA.
Royals' Opening Day roster finalized
In addition to designating Tillo for assignment on Thursday, the Royals announced their 40-man roster. Right-handed reliever Joel Payamps is on the Family Medical Emergency List, which opens up a spot on the 28-man roster. The Royals have through the end of the month before they must cut their amount of carried bodies down to 26, temporarily leaving the door ajar for players who may not have previously made the cut.
Three players who jump out are Kyle Isbel, Edward Olivares and Dylan Coleman. All three stood decent chances to make the team and were even projected on Inside the Royals to do so, although Coleman seemed to be the possible odd man out until the Payamps designation came through. The hard-throwing righty will add power to the back end of the Royals' bullpen, and both Isbel and Olivares will look to add depth to the team's crowded outfield rotation.
Follow Along
First Pitch: 3:10 p.m. CST
TV: Bally Sports Kansas City
Radio: KCSP 610 AM
Jordan Foote is the editor-in-chief of Inside the Royals, as well as the deputy editor of Arrowhead Report and a producer for Kansas City Sports Network. Jordan is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media with a minor in Sports Administration. Follow him on Twitter @footenoted.