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The versatile Whit Merrifield emerges as bench option for the Royals

SURPRISE, Ariz.

The winter days began with a breakfast of nine eggs, a 700-calorie feast of protein, cholesterol and fuel. Then came a bowl of hot oatmeal to top it off.

For lunch, Whit Merrifield dined on three servings of chicken, rice and vegetables. For dinner, he piled a serving of red meat on his plate. In between the gorging, he chowed on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and shakes while working out at Torque Performance, a gym near his home in North Carolina.

The goal was simple enough: In order to add bulk to a 6-foot-1 frame, Merrifield wanted to consume the equivalent of seven meals each day.