Royals sign four to Minor League deals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals have signed four players to Minor League contracts for the 2008 season, inviting two to the Royals Major League Spring Training camp in Surprise, Ariz. The Royals also announced that infielder Jason Smith has accepted an outright assignment to Omaha and will be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. The Royals have a total of 18 non-roster invitees.

The following is a list of the 18 players who have been invited to the Royals Major League camp:

Pitchers (8)
- RHP Roman Colon
- LHP John Foster
- RHP Roberto Giron
- RHP Ben Hendrickson
- RHP Hideo Nomo
- RHP Matt Peterson
- RHP Chin-hui Tsao
- RHP Matt Wright

Catchers (4)
- Adam Donachie
- Damaso Espino
- Ken Huckaby
- Kiel Thibault

Infielders (4)
- Mike Aviles
- Angel Berroa
- Jason Smith
- Mike Stodolka

Outfielders (2)
- Chris Lubanski
- Damon Hollins

Outfielder Damon Hollins, 33, will be in the Royals Major League camp as a non-roster invite after spending the 2007 season with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan. The right-handed hitting and throwing Hollins has spent parts of four seasons in the Majors with the Braves (1998, 2004), Dodgers (1998) and Devil Rays (2005-06), hitting .242 with 28 home runs and 86 RBI in 256 games.

Catcher Ken Huckaby, 36, has appeared in the Majors for the Diamondbacks (2001), Blue Jays (2002-03, 2005), Rangers (2004) and Red Sox (2006), hitting .222 in 161 career games. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-handed hitter, who has been invited to the Royals Major League camp, spent the entire 2007 season with Las Vegas (Triple-A) in the Dodgers system.

Left-handed pitcher Tim Hamulack, 31, has appeared for six organizations in his professional career, having cups of coffee with the big-league Mets in 2005 and Dodgers in 2006. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder was the Royals Rule 5 Draft selection from Houston in 2000, but was purchased by the Marlins a day later.

Infielder David Matranga, 31, spent the 2007 season at Oklahoma (Triple-A) in the Texas Rangers organization, hitting .266 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI, playing all four infield positions. The right-handed hitter saw time in the Majors with the Astros (2003) and Angels (2005).