The Royals were looking to add a pitcher before the start of the season, and felt as though Sidney Ponson was the best option. "We saw him as the best available guy based on our scouts' assessment," general manager Dayton Moore said. "Our scouts saw him in the WBC and were very aggressive in their recommendation that we need to bring him in here so we could evaluate him ourselves." Ponson is an 11-year veteran with a 90-106 career record and a history of baggage. "It's part of the equation," Moore acknowledged. "He's obviously created some problems for himself in his past. But if we didn't think it was manageable or something that could be positive for us going forward, we wouldn't take the chance."