TL1 Northwest Arkansas Naturals

RHP Bannister Outrighted Off Royals' 40-Man

Published on November 11, 2009 under Texas League (TL1)
Northwest Arkansas Naturals News Release


SPRINGDALE, AR -

Monday afternoon the Kansas City Royals removed Naturals' right-hander John Bannister off of the 40-man Major League roster by sending him outright to Triple-A Omaha after he cleared through waivers. Bannister remains with the organization after agreeing to a 2010 minor-league contract.

Bannister, the 25-year old Tucson, AZ resident, made eight appearances down the stretch with Northwest Arkansas after the Royals claimed him off waivers from the Texas Rangers in early August. Ranked prior to the season as the Rangers' 30th best prospect according to Baseball America, Bannister was 1-0 with a 5.02 ERA with the Naturals. He spent most of the first half of the 2009 season in the Texas League with the Frisco RoughRiders.

In 154 career games at the minor-league level, Bannister is 26-33 with a 4.75 ERA.

Previously, the Royals announced that they agreed to a new minor-league contract with Naturals catcher and Arkansas native Cody Clark. The 28-year old backstop had his most impressive season to date with the Naturals in 2009, batting.304 with eight homers and 32 RBI in 65 games as part of a three-headed Naturals catching tandem in 2009 that produced at the plate and worked hard defensively behind the dish. The Conway resident also appeared in three games with Triple-A Omaha early in the season and had four hits in eight at-bats.

Former Naturals' infielder Irving Falu was another player resigned early on, agreeing to a new minor-league contract to remain with the Royals' organization, where he is likely to return to Triple-A Omaha in 2010. Falu batted.269 with two homers and 40 RBI in 122 games with the O-Royals.

Both Falu and Clark, like Bannister, could have elected to become minor-league free agents.

More moves involving the Royals' 40-man roster are likely as the Royals consider which minor-league prospects to protect from the annual Rule 5 draft. Several current and former Naturals could be included such as infielder Jeff Bianchi, outfielders Jordan Parraz and Jarrod Dyson and pitchers Juan Abreu and Blake Wood. Those players would be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft if not placed on the Royals' 40-man roster by November 20th. The draft will take place December 10th at the winter meetings in Indianapolis.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale. The 2010 season begins on Thursday, April 8th. Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Check out the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Statistics

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Texas League Stories from November 11, 2009


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