Kansas City, Mo. ? The Kansas City Royals, who own the worst record in the majors, made eight roster moves before Saturday night’s game against Oakland.

The Royals optioned opening-day second baseman Ruben Gotay and right-hander Leo Nunez to Double-A Wichita. Another right-hander, former first-round pick Kyle Snyder, was optioned to Triple-A Omaha, and veteran catcher Alberto Castillo was released.

Kansas City purchased the contract of utility player Denny Hocking from Omaha, recalled catcher Paul Phillips and right-hander Mike Wood from Omaha and right-hander Jonah Bayliss from Wichita.

The Royals have lost nine straight.

“We’re still in a developmental stage, but we said we need to see some results,” general manager Allard Baird said. “We want to start turning projection into production. We’re looking for more results.”

Baird said the Royals wanted a longer look at the players, which is why they made the moves now instead of waiting until the rosters are expanded in September.

Gotay, who started 79 games at second base, was just 2-for-28 in his past nine games to drop his average to .227. Manager Buddy Bell said rookie Donnie Murphy, called up on July 20 from Wichita, would start the majority of the games at second base the rest of the season.

“We saw a lot of good things from Ruben,” Bell said. “He’s got to get better defensively.”