Tony Pena Jr. threw a bullpen session Friday for Royals pitching coach Bob McClure and will head to Arizona to work off the mound.
Pena, who was dropped from Kansas City's roster 10 days ago, could work his way back to the majors as a reliever. "We're looking at the possibility of converting him, if all goes well as far as how his arm reacts," manager Trey Hillman said. "We'll get him off to Arizona, start taking a look at him on the mound and see how that goes. My preference would be to see him in a bullpen situation just because of his touch and feel with throwing a baseball and because of his arm strength. I would say he's probably a setup candidate." He's also probably an injury candidate, but if he survives the transition, perhaps he could be an interesting relief option in a year or two. His arm strength isn't in question.
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