KANSAS CITY -- The Royals still consider infielder Christian Colon a valuable prospect.
And that is why the Royals demoted him on Friday.
Colon, 26, was optioned to Triple-A Omaha while the club selected the contract of infielder Dusty Coleman, who played collegiately at Wichita State and spent the last seven years in the Oakland organization before signing this offseason with the Royals.
Colon, the fourth overall pick of the 2010 MLB Draft, has played in just seven games since May 31. He was hitting .244 with a .601 OPS.
"Young guys tend to get stagnant when they don't play a lot," manager Ned Yost said.