Surprise, Ariz. ? The Kansas City Royals, who are coming off a franchise-record 100-loss season, were full of optimism Thursday in their first full-squad spring training workout.

Manager Tony Pena, who replaced Tony Muser last May, held a team meeting with the 53 players before a four-hour workout under overcast skies with cool 50-degree temperatures.

“I told them just to get better as a player and be prepared to win,” Pena said. “There are so many things you can control, but a lot of things you can’t. I told them to stay focused in the things you can control.”

Pena said he wants his team to dwell on the positive and “throw the negatives away.”

Kansas City has not had a winning season since 1994 and has lost 97 or more games in three of the past four years.

“This is the best time of the year, the beginning of camp when everybody is equal,” said outfielder Raul Ibanez, who set career highs last year with 24 home runs and 103 RBIs. “I’m very optimistic. We have a lot of good young arms, power arms.”

If the Royals are to make major strides, they’ll need some of their young and talented pitchers — including Jeremy Affeldt, Runelvys Hernandez, Mike MacDougal and Chris George — to make sizable contributions. None, however, has more than a year of big league experience.

“The pitching is wide open,” Pena said. “We have not named one guy for the starting rotation. We’ll go day by day, then pick the rotation.”

Kansas City has 29 pitchers in camp, and at least 23 have a legitimate chance of making the club, depending on their performance in exhibition games.

Tony Pena led the Royals through their first workout of the preseason on Thursday.

Fifteen pitchers took turns throwing 10 minutes of batting practice Thursday, while the other 14 will throw Friday. The most-watched session featured MacDougal and Zack Greinke, a 19-year-old right-hander who was the Royals’ top pick in the 2002 draft, throwing to a group that included Mike Sweeney, Mark Quinn and Dee Brown.

“I think for us to get out of the rut the club has been in here the last seven or eight years, it has to originate in the players’ minds and within the organization that we’re going to win,” said catcher Brent Mayne.

“The talent is here. There’s been worse teams that win. This team can win with young players.”

Ibanez said he wants this season to have a meaningful finish.

“Last year, like in September, that was tough, having to play those games where you are not playing for anything,” Ibanez said.

“I hope we can play meaningful games in September. Anything is possible.”

Outfielder Alexis Gomez and infielder Elvis Pena have not reported, because they are experiencing visa problems trying to leave the Dominican Republic.

St. Louis Cardinals

Jupiter, Fla. — Scott Rolen hopes he’ll have an even better year in his first full season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“It was tough to be traded in the middle of the season,” the 27-year-old third baseman said Thursday. “But in retrospect, it was great, too. It’s not like I had to introduce myself to everyone.”

Rolen hit .278 with 14 homers and 44 RBIs in 55 games with the Cardinals, who acquired him from Philadelphia on July 29. He sprained his shoulder in the second game of the playoffs when he collided with Arizona pinch-runner Alex Cintron and missed the rest of the postseason.

Cincinnati Reds

Sarasota, Fla. — Former All-Star shortstop Barry Larkin, whose performance has fallen off in recent seasons, says he has no intention of letting a younger player take his job.

Cincinnati manager Bob Boone has hinted that newcomer Felipe Lopez, 22, could get some playing time at shortstop. But Larkin, who has battled injuries in recent years, says he’s not ready to cede anything to Lopez.

“I plan on playing more than last year,” Larkin said.

Larkin, who turns 39 on April 28, is coming off the worst year of his career. He hit .245 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in last season.

Atlanta Braves

Kissimmee, Fla. — Three young left-handers have made quite an impression on Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox.

The way Cox was talking Thursday, Andy Pratt, Horacio Ramirez and Jung Bong are strong contenders to be with the Braves on opening day.

“Any of those guys could make the team,” Cox said. “If not now, then real quick.”

Bong, 22, and Pratt, 23, both made one appearance for the Braves last season.

Houston Astros

Kissimmee, Fla. — After a flulike illness knocked him out of first day of team workouts, Jeff Kent eased into spring training with the Houston Astros.

Kent, the power hitter who signed with the Astros in December after helping lead the San Francisco Giants to the World Series, made it through batting practice but said he still wasn’t 100 percent.

“Just turning into an old man, I guess,” the 34-year-old said with a laugh as he headed into the clubhouse.