Jason Kendall and David DeJesus returning from the 60-day disabled list meant the Royals needed to clear a couple spots on the 40-man roster and they did so by cutting loose Brian Bannister and Brian Anderson.
Bannister is one of my favorite players because he’s a good quote, very smart, and a fan of sabermetrics, often talking about how he studies stats in an effort to improve his pitching. It didn’t help him much this season, as he went 7-12 with a 6.32 ERA in 24 starts after coming into the year with a 4.79 ERA in 540 career innings.
He’s a decent bounceback bet, but Bannister’s upside is back-of-the-rotation starter and at age 30 he may have to settle for a minor-league contract with an opportunity to compete for a job this spring.
Anderson is a former first-round pick who converted to pitching this season after struggling to hit enough to play the outfield. He had some early success in the minors, tossing 17 innings with a 2.08 ERA and 17/5 K/BB ratio, but there was no need to protect him with a 40-man roster spot.
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- WhenMattStairsIsKing - Nov 10, 2010 at 5:21 PM
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Bannister will get a few spring training invites, 3-4 likely.
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- sportsdrenched - Nov 10, 2010 at 10:50 PM
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Yay! There is much rejoicing in Royals Nation
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- BC - Nov 11, 2010 at 9:45 AM
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7-12 and 6.32? Eeek. Didn’t realize he was THAT bad this year. He’s got better stuff than that. I’d snap him up on a minor league deal and see what he can do. Always though he’d be a decent enough 3rd or 4th starter somewhere.
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- WhenMattStairsIsKing - Nov 11, 2010 at 9:50 AM
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More like 5th starter, I’d say.
He ought to either be snapped up cheap by the Marlins or Pirates, or be considered as a project for Dave Duncan.
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- BC - Nov 11, 2010 at 10:22 AM
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Actually St. Louis wouldn’t be a bad option.
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