Royals signed 1B Brandon Laird to a minor league contract. Laird was removed from the Astros' 40-man roster in October and elected to become a free agent. The infielder, whom the Royals described as a third baseman on their Twitter account, hit .169/.224/.423 in 71 at-bats with the Astros in 2013. The 26-year-old will serve as organizational depth.