At the age of 22, Billy Butler was to be one of the cornerstones for the Royals' youth movement. He had captured two minor league batting championships after being a 2004 first-round pick.
Butler was the only Royal to play in the first 53 games this year. He was not, however, on the roster for Game 54 -- a 5-1 loss to the Twins. Butler was traveling back to the minors, optioned to Class AAA Omaha before the game Thursday. The Royals are mired in an 11-game losing streak, and they made a flurry of roster moves, with Butler's demotion the most noteworthy.
"There's certainly no intention of Billy Butler being the scapegoat, none whatsoever," manager Trey Hillman said.
Hillman acknowledged that the fact that Butler had minor league options left played into the decision.
Tony Pena Jr., who is hitting a puny .160, is out of options.
"We don't want to lose Tony," Hillman said.
Butler, who was hitting .302 on April 25, hit just .233 in May with six extra-base hits, all doubles, and seven RBIs. Overall, Butler hit .263 with one home run and 18 RBIs.
"We all know that Billy is better than that," Hillman said. "Those numbers over the course of the past month are not helping our situation right now. He's not squaring up balls at the same ratio. He's not even taking pitches with the same comfort level and balance at the plate he was for the first three weeks of the season.
"We do expect to see Billy later. When? I don't know. How long will this take? I can't tell you. We felt like this was a good opportunity for him to go down and get his offensive part of the game going, get his confidence level back. With (Omaha first baseman) Ryan Shealy out on a rehab assignment, Billy can get some more first base work. This provides Billy an opportunity to continue to grow as a first baseman and see how the offense goes."
TWINS 5, ROYALS 1: The Royals did not manage a run until Alex Gordon and David DeJesus doubled in the ninth. They were the first Royals to get beyond first base. Kansas City managed just six hits off Kevin Slowey, who pitched his first major league complete game. Royals starter Luke Hochevar was pulled after 5 1/3 innings -- after allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks. The Royals have been outscored 67-28 in their 11-game losing streak, the longest in the majors this season.
