KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals called up first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino on Monday after trading veteran Carlos Santana to Seattle for a pair of pitching prospects.
The club announced that Pasquatino’s contract had been selected from Class AAA Omaha after Santana was dealt to the Mariners for right-handers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming.
To make room for Pasquantino on the roster, the Royals also designated right-hander Ronald Bolaños for assignment.
While Pasquantino was called up, Hunter Dozier was penciled into the starting lineup Monday at first base in the opening game of a three-game set with Texas at Kauffman Stadium.
Mills, who joins the club’s 40-man roster, will be optioned to Omaha, while Fleming will be assigned to Class A Quad Cities in Davenport, Iowa.
Pasquantino, 24, batted .280 with 18 home runs, a minor-league-leading 67 RBIs and 37 walks while only striking out 36 times this season for the Storm Chasers. He ranks in the top 10 among all Class AAA players in extra-base hits (36), runs (51), home runs (18), total bases (144), slugging (.576) and OPS (.948).
Pasquantino, who will wear No. 9, joined the Royals as an 11th-round pick in 2019 from Old Dominion.
Santana, 36, was in the second year of a two-year deal he signed before last season. He’s only slashing .216/.349/.341 this season, but has surged in the month of June.
During 17 games this month, Santana has batted .357 with the second-highest on-base percentage in the majors (.478), trailing only Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (.494). He has 10 doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs in 2022.
As for the trade return, Mills has a 7.59 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 21 1/3 innings across 19 appearances the last two seasons with Seattle. He’s posted a 4.15 ERA in eight appearances in 2022.
Mills, 27, has a 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings across 16 appearances for Class AAA Tacoma this season.
Fleming, 23, who was an 11th-round pick last season from Wake Forest, is 6-6 with a 4.92 ERA in 14 starts at Class Low-A in the Mariners’ system.
Bolaños, 25, has made eight appearances this season with Kansas City, posted a 4.42 ERA in 18 1/3 innings and went 0-2 with a 5.49 ERA for Omaha in nine appearances, including four starts.
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