Erik Bedard was linked to Kansas City by yahoo.com which reported the Royals were "going hard" after the free-agent left-hander. "He's certainly a name we've talked about and will continue to talk about," said Royals assistant general manager J.J. Picollo, "but I think that's probably an overstatement. Right now there's a free-agent pool out there and we're looking into every one of those guys. And with Erik being left-handed it stands out a little bit more." RealGM Note: The Royals most recent big free agent splash was when the signed former Seattle pitcher Gil Meche.