KANSAS CITY -- One of the subtle offseason moves the Royals made was promoting Double-A Northwest Arkansas hitting coach Brian Buchanan to the Major League staff to assist hitting coach Dale Sveum.
Just who is Buchanan? He is a 43-year-old former outfielder/first baseman for the Twins, Padres and Mets who originally was drafted by the Yankees. In parts of five seasons, he hit .258 with 32 home runs.
Buchanan managed in the low Minors for the Royals beginning in 2010 with stops in Idaho Falls, Kane County and Lexington before he became the hitting coach for Northwest Arkansas last season.