Royals closing on a deal with free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado
The deal that made too much sense not to happen is now on the verge of happening. The Royals and free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado are closing in on an agreement that would fill the void left by Salvador Perez’s season-ending Tommy John surgery.
The Royals had not announced the deal as of shortly before the major-league team prepared for a spring training Cactus League game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Ariz.
But a source confirmed to The Star that the sides were working towards an agreement. The final hurdle would likely be for Maldonado to pass a physical.
Ken Rosenthal, an MLB Network analyst and reporter for The Athletic who first reported the pending deal, said Maldonado’s one-year contract would be worth $2.5 million with another $1.4 million in incentives.
Perez, a six-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove catcher had season-ending surgery to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow of his throwing arm on Wednesday.
Perez didn’t commit an error in 96 starts behind the plate last season, becoming just the seventh major-leaguer to commit no errors in 96 starts or more since 1913. He also threw out 24 base-stealers in 51 chances, and recorded three pickoffs on his way to his fifth Gold Glove in six seasons.
Perez has joined an exclusive group of catchers with at least five Gold Gloves: Ivan Rodríguez (13), Johnny Bench (10), Yadier Molina (9), Bob Boone (7), Jim Sundberg (6) and Bill Freehan (5).
His injury left the Royals with the combination of Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria as their top options at the position. Gallagher has played 35 games in the majors, while Viloria has played 10. The entirety of Viloria’s big-league experience came last September after he got called up from High-A.
Maldonado, 32, is not the power bat in the middle of the lineup that Perez has been, but he broke up Perez’s run of consecutive AL Gold Gloves by taking the award in 2017.
Last season, he allowed the second-fewest passed balls in the AL and led the league in percentage of base-stealers thrown out (48.6 percent).
He’s batted .220 with a .289 on-base percentage and a .350 slugging percentage in his eight-year career in the majors.
By signing Maldonado, the Royals will have a catcher on par with Perez, defensively, to work with their young pitching staff. Brad Keller, who jumped from Double-A to the majors last season, will be in just his second season (his first as a full-time starter).
The rotation could also include Heath Fillmyer and Jorge Lopez. Neither Fillmyer, Lopez nor Keller have made more than 20 starts in the majors.
Perez’s bat will be harder to replace. The club’s cleanup hitter in 76 games last season, Perez hit 27 home runs, had 80 RBIs and posted a .439 slugging percentage while batting .235 with a .274 on-base percentage.
Outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler will likely slot into the cleanup spot in the lineup behind Alex Gordon. Soler has shown great power potential, but he has not remained healthy for a full season. The 27-year-old has not played more than 101 games in any big-league season.
Last season, Soler hit nine home runs and 18 doubles while posting a .466 slugging percentage and .354 on-base percentage and batting .265 in 61 games.
Royals manager Ned Yost has also floated the idea of minor-league first baseman Frank Schwindel, one of the top hitters in the farm system, as a catching candidate.
The back-to-back player of the year for the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers, Schwindel was also the Royals organization’s minor-league hitter of the year in 2017. Last season, he hit a career-high 24 homers and had 93 RBIs while batting .286 with a .336 on-base percentage and a .506 slugging percentage.
Yost said on Saturday morning that he still planned to have Schwindel catch in a big-league spring training game in the near future. Schwindel was expected to play third base at some point in Saturday’s game.
When asked if the addition of a catcher might change the plan for Schwindel, Yost replied, “Doesn’t matter. I still want to see him catch. Even if you’re adding somebody, the ability to have a third catcher on your team is big. Especially one that’s not just a catcher, that can play multiple positions.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2019 at 1:04 PM.
