The Royals solved their outfield conundrum Tuesday by signing free-agent Jon Jay to a one-year contract. They also revealed some troubling news about embattled prospect Bubba Starling and former Athletics starting pitcher Jesse Hahn.
The Royals headed into spring training with three main candidates to man center field: Alex Gordon played 15 games in center field a year ago, Paulo Orlando had made 45 starts over the previous three seasons, and Starling, the former Gardner Edgerton star who was a first-round pick in 2011.
Starling, however, started to experience oblique soreness in the last few days, so the Royals are scaling back his workload in hopes of avoiding injury.