SURPRISE, Ariz.

The open locker is the ultimate status symbol in a baseball clubhouse. The veteran star typically gets an empty stall adjacent to his regular locker, for extra storage space and the chance to spread out. At the Kansas City Royals’ spring training complex, there is only one obvious choice.

It is the closer, Joakim Soria, a two-time All-Star at 26 and, with first baseman Billy Butler, probably the team’s only impact player in his prime. The Royals’ identity is their rich crop of prospects, led by infielders Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. But their most identifiable major leaguer, Soria, is changing his image.

This is a good change, though, and a relatively rare chance to celebrate an athlete for social awareness. Soria, who is from Santiago de la Monclova, Mexico, has dropped his nickname, the Mexicutioner, because of its violent connotations.

“When you got a nickname like that, I know probably on the baseball side, it’s a good nickname,” Soria said. “But if you saw all the violence in Mexico, it’s really bad. When you’re a public person in Mexico and they see that kind of nickname, it’s a negative nickname. So we have to do something positive and just take it away.”