Kansas City Royals pitchers Danny Duffy and Blake Wood both need Tommy John surgery, according to MLB.com.

Both pitchers met today with elbow specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum, a noted practitioner of the surgery, in Tempe, Ariz. Duffy, 23, and Wood, 26, will both have the operation in Los Angeles within two weeks.

Duffy and Wood are the third and fourth Royals pitchers to go under the knife this season — major league closer Joakim Soria had the operation on April 3, as did minor league hurler John Lamb.

Royals manager Ned Yost is confident that Duffy and Wood, both established major leaguers, will be able to recover fully.

“Once a player gets to the big leagues and has Tommy John, his percentage of making it back are higher than a minor league player who has never been to the big leagues,” Yost said. “They did the hard part, they got to the big league level before they had to have these surgeries, so we look for both these guys to come back as strong, or even stronger than before the injuries occurred.”

The Kansas City Royals have placed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right ankle, according to an AP report.

Betancourt first injured the ankle toward the end of spring training but managed to play hurt through all of April; he appeared in 15 games, hitting .280 with one home run and three RBIs.

The Royals have purchased the contract of Irving Falu from Triple-A Omaha to fill Betancourt’s spot on the big-league roster. This is Falu’s first appearance in the major leagues after a decade in the minors; he was hitting .306 in his fourth season in Omaha.

The Royals transferred closer Joakim Soria to the 60-day DL to make room for Falu on the 40-man roster. Soria is out for the season, recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Zach Miner broke into the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and gave them four solid years; now, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, he’s back.

#Royals have traded RHP Zach Miner, a former Tiger, back to Detroit for cash considerations.

—
Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) April 20, 2012

After leaving the Tigers in 2009, Miner missed all of the 2010 season recovering from Tommy John surgery; he then signed a minor-league contract with the Royals on New Year’s Eve in 2010. He pitched in the Royals’ farm system last season.

Miner has a career record of 25-20 and a 4.24 ERA in 157 appearances, 35 of them starts. He made his last appearance in the major leagues on Oct. 6, 2009.

The Kansas City Royals and former first-round draft pick Alex Gordon have agreed to a deal that will keep Gordon with the team through 2015, with a player option for 2016, the team announced Friday.

The report states that the deal is worth $37.5 million, but the option could raise the value to $50 million.

Gordon, 28, finished 2011 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs in 157 games with the Royals. He also compiled 20 outfield assists and picked up his first Gold Glove Award. Last season was his first as a full time outfielder, after he started his career as a third baseman.

Kansas City Royals right handed relief pitcher, Joakim Soria will be out for the entire season due to Tommy John surgery, according to a tweet from Kansas City Royals beat writer, Bob Dutton.

Soria's surgery will be April 3 in Los Angeles by Dr. Lewis Yocum. Soria got three opinions before choosing to undergo the procedure.

—
Bob Dutton (@Royals_Report) March 23, 2012

Soria will undergo surgery April 3 and it will take about 12-18 months to recover, meaning he will miss the entire 2012 season and possibly the start of the 2013 season.

Soria has had a spectacular career with the Royals going from a zero to a hero closer in 2007 and saving 160 games with a 2.40 ERA and 341 strikeouts in 315 innings over five seasons. Last season he had a 4.03 ERA with 60 strikeouts.

Kansas City Royals closer Joakim Soria has injured his right elbow and may need Tommy John surgery requiring him to miss the entire 2012 season, according to Danny Knobler of CBS.

The Royals said that an MRI revealed damage in the ulnar collateral ligament of Soria’s right elbow. Soria, 27, is likely to need the season-ending operation, but the team may decide to seek a second opinion first.

This would be Soria’s second time going under the knife for Tommy John surgery — he also underwent the procedure in 2003, when he was a prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization.

Soria struggled for the Royals last season, putting up a mediocre 4.03 ERA. He finished with 28 saves despite temporarily losing the Kansas City closing job.

Greg Holland, the 26-year-old righty who saved four games in Soria’s stead last season, is still under contract and could take over the role again this year. The Royals also signed former Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton to a one-year, $4 million deal in the offseason.

Ivan Rodriguez is 40 years young and not done yet — Pudge has been offered an invitation to Kansas City Royals spring training, according to CBS’ Jon Heyman.

Rodriguez spent the last two seasons with the Washington Nationals, playing a total of 140 games (139 at catcher and one at first base). He hit an anemic .218 last year in limited playing time.

The Royals have an opening behind the plate, as an injury to Salvador Perez has left them looking for a quick fix. Rodriguez just might fit the bill — he’s the all-time leader in catching Gold Gloves with 13.

Rodriguez, a career .296 hitter, now has 2,844 career hits to his name, within striking distance of the elusive 3,000 mark. A regular major league job in 2012 might put him even closer to baseball immortality.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez had surgery today to repair a tear in his left knee, according to the Associated Press. He will miss at least three months.

With Perez’s prolonged absence, the Royals will be scrambling in the coming days and weeks to find a stopgap behind the plate. Managed Ned Yost described the team’s need at catcher as “pretty important,” saying the team needs to find someone as soon as possible.

“There’s not another Sal out there that you can get — there’s just not,” Yost said. “The next-best thing is any semblance of a guy that can catch and throw and can hit a little bit and that can cost you young prospects, and we don’t want to do that.”

Perez, who’s only 21 years old, hit .331 in 39 games for the Royals last season after being promoted to the major leagues on Aug. 10. He signed a five-year, $7 million contract extension with the team on Feb. 27.

The Kansas City Royals have announced that they have signed shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to a one-year deal, according to MLB Trade Rumors.

“We have been looking for a utility infielder who could play short, third and second base and we feel Yuni is a great fit,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said in a statement. “He brings a right-handed bat with some power and is a guy we know fits in well in the clubhouse.”

Betancourt hit .252/.271/.381 with 13 home runs and 68 RBI in 152 games for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. The 30-year-old was part of the trade that sent former Kansas City ace Zack Greinke to the Brewers last season. He will now return to play in his third season with the Royals.

In his seven-year career Betancourt has posted a 162 game average of .268/.292/.391 with 10 home runs and 63 RBI.

The Kansas City Royals have signed a one-year deal with right hand pitcher Jonathan Broxton, pending a physical, according to MLB.com.

Broxton was 1-2 with a 5.68 ERA early this season with only 14 appearances before shutting down the rest of the season with bone spurs in his right elbow.  He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the elbow on Sept. 19.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers closer is expected to set up for closer Joakim Soria.

“We are delighted to add someone as talented as Jonathan to our bullpen,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “He will be used in a setup role to closer Joakim Soria and will help solidify what we feel is a young and talented bullpen.”

Sports Illustrated Jon Heyman reports that the deal is worth $4 million dollars.  No other details surrounding the contract have been released.  In 2009, when Broxton was healthy, the hefty right-hander posted a 2.61 ERA and 36 saves for the Dodgers.

The Kansas City Royals have acquired left-hander Jonathan Sanchez from the San Francisco Giants, according to tweet from the team’s official Twitter account.

“Royals acquire LHP Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Verdugo from Giants for OF Melky Cabrera,” the tweet read.

Sanchez, 28, posted a 4.26 ERA in 19 starts this season and walked a career-high 5.9 batters per nine innings. The Giants starter dealt with bicep tendinitis and a sprained ankle during the season. He will earn $5.2 million next year.

The Giants will receive 27-year-old Melky Cabrera to try and add more offensive consistency to their lineup.  The outfielder hit .305/.339/.470 with 18 home runs in his one-year as a Royal.

The Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves have been in discussions about Braves’ starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens, but those talks stalled Friday, according to the Kansas City Star. Though Atlanta is willing to deal both Jurrjens and infielder Martin Prado, Kansas City is not willing to agree on which prospects will be sent off in exchange.

The Braves sought minor league outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Wil Myers for Prado and Jurrjens. Kansas City is not concerned with sending Cain, but Myers, 20, is a different story, the paper reported. He was recently chosen as the organization’s best prospect.

Jurrjens was 13-6 a year ago for Atlanta, with a 2.96 ERA. Prado struggled at the plate, reaching base at only a .302 clip. The acquisition of both players would boost the Royals’ payroll by approximately $10 million.