Surprise, Ariz. ? Kansas City Royals manager Buddy Bell knows a bit about defense.

A six-time Gold Glove winner as a third baseman during his playing days, Bell only could cringe when watching last year’s Royals amass a major-league-leading 125 errors.

“I never thought any other way,” Bell said. “If you can’t catch the ball, you’re not going to win. It is not just the error. It is the plays you don’t get to.”

Bell expects a revamped infield to cover a lot more ground this year.

The Royals were active in the offseason, acquiring first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, a Gold Glove winner in 2001 with the Minnesota Twins, and second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who had a .990 fielding percentage last year to lead all National League second baseman.

The Royals also claimed utility infielder Tony Graffanino off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, adding further depth to the middle infield.

“I don’t really care a lot about errors. It is the range, the balls you should get to,” Bell said. “If you don’t, it adds pitches to the pitcher’s pitch count. It adds runners. It is so disruptive. A lot of people don’t understand that.”

Bell said Mientkiewicz’s range will also cut down on the number of errors by shortstop Angel Berroa and third baseman Mark Teahen. The two combined for 45 last season.

“You want to make all the routine plays, but frankly that ain’t quite enough,” Bell said. “You’ve got to go beyond your limit every once in a while. I don’t know how capable of that we are. Only time will tell.”

Kansas City’s defensive lapses weren’t limited only to the infield, though. Emil Brown led all outfielders with 12 errors last season, and patchy defense became the norm across the board.

Bell said he expects the offseason acquisition of veteran Reggie Sanders, who had a .983 fielding percentage in 81 games with the St. Louis Cardinals, to cover more ground in right field while helping emerging star David DeJesus in center.

“I think everybody is talking about our infield (defense) being better, which it is,” Bell said. “But our outfield defense is going to be better, too.”

Bell also said Kansas City’s pitching staff, with new starters Scott Elarton and Joe Mays at the top of the rotation, would throw more strikes and put more balls in play than last year.

That means his revamped defense should get plenty of chances to show improvement.

“I think it should be a lot better,” Bell said of the defense. “It is going to need to be better because we’re going to have some pitchers who are going to be able to throw strikes. Our starters will put the ball in play. It has got to be better.”

Notes: The Royals optioned outfielder Aaron Guiel to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday, after hitting .351 in 13 spring-training games and representing Canada in the World Baseball Classic. … Reserve outfielder Shane Costa, who hit .235 in 27 games with the Royals last season, will remain on the Kansas City roster. … Right-hander Leo Nunez will begin the season with Double-A Wichita, after going 3-2 with a 7.55 earned-run average in 41 relief appearances with the Royals last season.