Royals Sign One-Time All-Star Catcher Away From Padres
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Spring training has already been underway for at least a week for everyone on the Kansas City Royals. But that didn't stop the ballclub from making one more last-minute signing.
On the surface, the Royals will have one of the more straightforward catching depth charts in the majors this year if all goes well. But because there's both an aging veteran and an unproven rookie involved, Kansas City has smartly added more depth pieces.
On Friday, the Royals announced the signing of one more depth piece. Kansas City announced it had signed former San Diego Padres catcher and 2023 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Elias Díaz to a minor-league contract with a non-roster invite to spring training.
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What Elias Díaz brings to the Royals
According to the Royals, Díaz will join the big-league camp at some point next week. At best, he'll enter the organization at the No. 3 spot on the depth chart behind captain Salvador Perez and rookie top prospect Carter Jensen.
Entering his age-35 season, Díaz has the advantage of experience. If Perez or Jensen went down, the Royals would know they were handing the backup job to a seasoned veteran who has caught 758 major league games over the last 11 seasons. He's probably got a bit more offensive upside than a typical backup as well.
Díaz is an excellent thrower, and has rebounded from a poor defensive season in 2023 to produce positive fielding run value in each of the last two seasons. In a fairly prominent role for the San Diego Padres last year, however, his offense fell off a cliff, as he posted a .607 OPS and nine home runs in 106 games.
Díaz may have proven to be a necessary signing because the Royals' third-stringer from last season, Luke Maile, was taken off the spring training roster due to personal considerations, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
Kansas City's other non-roster invites at catcher are Jorge Alfaro, Luca Tresh, and Omar Hernandez.
More MLB: Royals Have 3 Non-Roster Pitchers Battling for Opening Day Spot: Insider
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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