Royals add Raul A. Mondesi, 20, to World Series roster
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals added a twist to their World Series roster Tuesday when they selected the contract of infielder Raul A. Mondesi from Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, Mondesi could become the first player to make his major league debut in the World Series.
Mondesi, the son of former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Raul Mondesi, replaces outfielder Terrance Gore on Kansas City's postseason roster. Gore made two appearances as a pinch runner in the American League playoffs and stole a base in the Division Series against the Houston Astros. Also, the Royals designated veteran reliever Joba Chamberlain for assignment.
Royals manager Ned Yost said Tuesday that the team decided to add Mondesi to the roster for flexibility, which is particularly important given that the series will shift to New York and be played under NL rules for Games 3, 4 and 5. Mondesi can play second base and shortstop. He can bunt, and he brings an element of speed to the Royals' roster.
"The coaches were on the idea before I was," Yost said. "We had to sit and discuss it for a long time. And finally when I told Raul yesterday that he was going to be on the roster, he just looked at me and said, 'I'm ready.' That turned the page for me."
Mondesi, 20, hit .243 with a .651 OPS in 81 games for Northwest Arkansas this season. He stole 19 bases in 25 attempts.
ESPN's Keith Law ranked Mondesi as the 38th best prospect in baseball to begin the 2015 season.
On Tuesday, there were reports out of Kansas City that Mondesi had been summoned as insurance for second basemanBen Zobrist,whose wife, Julianna, is in the final month of a pregnancy. But Zobrist told reporters Monday that his wife isn't due until mid-November.
"I basically told my wife, 'You're going to be on bed rest until the game. You can go and enjoy the game, but besides that, you're going to chill, and I'm going to do what I can to make sure that baby doesn't come out until after everything is over,'" Zobrist said. "So we should be OK. We're just trying to take precautions.".
By making a World Series roster, Mondesi achieves a distinction never enjoyed by his father. Raul Mondesi spent 13 seasons in the majors with the Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and four other clubs. He appeared in 1,525 regular-season games, made 6,369 regular-season plate appearances and tacked on 38 postseason plate appearances in 10 playoff games, but he was never part of a World Series roster.
Royals pitchers (11): Johnny Cueto, Wade Davis, Danny Duffy, Luke Hochevar, Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, Kris Medlen,Franklin Morales,Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Chris Young.
The projected starters in Games 1 through 3 -- Volquez, Cueto and Ventura -- all hail from the Dominican Republic. According to Elias, should all three make their scheduled starts, the Royals will become not only the first team in history to use three starting pitchers born in the Dominican in a World Series but also the first team to use a World Series starting trio born outside the United States.
Royals catchers (2): Drew Butera, Salvador Perez.
Royals infielders (7): Christian Colon, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Raul A. Mondesi, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas, Ben Zobrist
Royals outfielders (5): Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson, Alex Gordon, Paulo Orlando, Alex Rios
