Yankees' Billy Burns: Reassigned to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Burns was reassigned to minor-league camp Thursday.
Burns' chances of breaking camp with the team were always slim at best. He's been sent down even with Aaron Hicks (back) expected to open the season on the injured list. It will take a handful of injuries for him to get a shot with the Yankees.
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Yankees' Billy Burns: Lands with Yankees
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Burns signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.
Burns' wheels made him an interesting player in the past, as he stole 43 bases in 222 games in 2015 and 2016, but his bat was simply too light for him to stick in the majors. He owns a career .270/.308/.353 line in parts of four seasons and has only received six plate appearances since 2016. He's unlikely to play a significant role in New York this season.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Headed back to KC
Rotowire
Burns has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday. He is expected to return to the major-league camp.
Burns had been in a battle for the center-field job against the likes of Paulo Orlando but was a roster casualty when the club acquired Lucas Duda to replace free-agent loss Eric Hosmer. After clearing waivers, Burns will return to the outfield competition during big league camp. Even in a best-case fantasy scenario for Burns, he'd be a cheap source of speed while representing a liability in most other categories. Of course, Burns would have to make the team first for that analysis to come into play.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Burns was designated for assignment by the Royals on Wednesday.
Burns was removed from the club's 40-man roster following the acquisition of first baseman Lucas Duda. It was expected that Burns would be competing for the starting spot in center field for the Royals in 2018, but he will now head to waivers to see where he will end up. Burns slashed .235/.271/.296 in 97 big-league games in 2016 before appearing in just seven contests for Kansas City last season.
Royals' Billy Burns: Pushing for center field job this spring
Rotowire
Burns is competing with Paulo Orlando for the Royals' starting center field job this spring, the Kansas City Star reports.
The switch-hitting Burns collected just six plate appearances at the big-league level in 2017, and he's never looked capable of matching this production from his run as a regular in Oakland when he hit .294/.334/.392 with 26 steals in 125 games. If the Royals opt to platoon the duo, the Burns could end up with the larger share of the playing time as the right-handed hitting Orlando has been more productive against southpaws over parts of three seasons in Kansas City.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Shipped back to minors
Rotowire
Burns was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.
Burns' stay on the active roster was brief, as he pinch ran a couple times and went just 1-for-4 at the plate. With the Royals wanting more pitching depth in KC, the speedster will head back to the minors to allow Jake Junis to rejoin the big-league club. Burns could find his way back to the majors soon if the team's pitching situation improves or if another injury strikes the major-league outfield.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Returns to big club
Rotowire
Burns was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Monday, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City reports.
Burns will assume Jorge Soler's spot on the active roster after the latter was optioned to Omaha in a corresponding move. Soler had difficultly finding at-bats behind the outfield triumvirate of Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain and Jorge Bonifacio, and it's likely that the speedy Burns will run into a similar issue. He's expected to provide most of his usefulness as a pinch runner or late-inning defensive replacement.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Burns was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.
Burns came off the bench in three games during his first stint with the Royals this season, but with the team's outfield starters enjoying sound health, he wouldn't have been in line for regular at-bats anytime soon. The Royals recalled infielder Ramon Torres to fill Burns' spot on the active roster.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Recalled from Triple-A
Rotowire
Burns was recalled from Triple-A Omaha prior to Saturday's game.
The Royals need a versatile, speedy bench outfielder in the short term, and Burns fits the bill. He was hitting .246/.358/.275 with 13 stolen bases and zero home runs in 165 plate appearances with Omaha. Jorge Soler was sent down in a corresponding move.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Returns from thumb injury
Rotowire
Burns (thumb) was activated from the 7-day disabled list Sunday, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.
Burns landed on the disabled list Tuesday after spraining his thumb during a game with Triple-A Omaha. He was able to recover quickly and will rejoin the fold in Omaha on Sunday. The speedy outfielder is currently sporting an 89 wRC+ with nine stolen bags through his first 29 minor-league contests.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Hits MiLB disabled list
Rotowire
Burns was placed on the DL at Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday after suffering a thumb sprain, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.
The 27-year-old outfielder was traded from Oakland to Kansas City last season. Over 24 games after the deal, he hit just .243/.275/.243 dressed in blue, forcing Burns into a job competition this spring. He failed to make the Opening Day roster, but with 235 games of MLB service under his belt, it was widely assumed he'd jump up from Triple-A at some point during the current campaign. Burns was slashing .271/.366/.308 before spraining his thumb.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
Burns was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Monday, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.
It was revealed earlier in the day that Jorge Soler (oblique) could be forced to open the season on the DL, but Terrance Gore rather than Burns would be first in line to win an Opening Day roster spot in the outfield if that materializes. After a down 2016 campaign that resulted in the Athletics trading him away to the Royals at midseason, Burns will have to reestablish value in the minors if he hopes to earn another look with the big club.
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Royals' Billy Burns: May get squeezed from Opening Day roster
Rotowire
Burns is competing for a roster spot with the Royals this spring, but he may end up beginning the season at Triple-A since he still has minor league options remaining.
Paulo Orlando is expected to serve as the primary backup at all three outfield spots, while new DH Brandon Moss can cover an outfield spot if needed, and Whit Merrifield may be an option to play the outfield if he sticks as a utility option. Burns' speed could make him a useful piece in AL-only leagues if he finds semi-regular playing time in 2017, but that may take multiple injuries to the players ahead of him on the depth chart in order to materialize.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Racks up three hits, steal in victory
Rotowire
Burns had his best game as a Royal on Monday, going 3-for-4 with a steal and two runs in an 8-3 win over the White Sox.
Cast out of Oakland after a disappointing encore to his impressive 2015 debut, Burns has assumed the role of a part-time player in Kansas City. The 27-year-old outfielder still has some longer-term fantasy appeal thanks to his speed, but he'll need to find a starting job in the offseason for that to come into play. If he wants a big role with the Royals or anyone else next year, he'll need to do more hitting in the season's remaining games. For what it's worth, he's recently started awakening from a season-long slumber at the plate, as Burns has six hits in his last 12 at-bats.
Burns will get his first start for the Royals on Thursday, manning center field and hitting eighth, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.
He will allow Lorenzo Cain to get a breather in the day game following Tuesday's night game, offering a speed presence at the bottom of the lineup. Burns will likely get a couple starts per week now that he is up with the big league club.
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Royals' Billy Burns: Recalled by Royals
Rotowire
Burns was recalled by the Royals on Wednesday.
Although Burns was initially assigned to Triple-A Omaha when he was dealt to the Royals, it didn't take long for the big league club to call upon his services. Burns' dreadful on-base percentage (.270) has held him back a bit this year, but his pure speed makes him a serious threat for the opposition when he does manage to get on base. The Royals have been using Paulo Orlando in center field of late, but Burns figures to make his Royals debut in that spot as soon as Wednesday. Kansas City optioned reliever Brooks Pounders in a corresponding move to bring up Burns.
