{"id":513346,"date":"2026-01-10T15:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/513346\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T15:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:30:17","slug":"ex-red-sox-rangers-backstop-signs-with-royals-in-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/513346\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Red Sox, Rangers Backstop Signs With Royals In Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Royals are suddenly beginning to stockpile minor-league catching talent in anticipation of needing some depth at Triple-A. <\/p>\n

Earlier this week, Royals on SI chronicled Kansas City’s minor-league deal<\/a> for catcher Jorge Alfaro, a major league journeyman likely to begin the year at Triple-A. As it turns out, Alfaro wasn’t the only catcher the Royals picked up in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

According to the official transactions log<\/a> of Major League Baseball, the Royals signed 28-year-old catcher Elih Marrero to a minor-league deal, which occurred on Dec. 29, but did not appear on the log for at least a week thereafter. <\/p>\n

If you like our content,\u00a0choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Royals’ new catcher likely an organizational depth piece<\/p>\n

Marrero, who was an eighth-round pick for the Boston Red Sox in 2018, has 312 games worth of minor-league experience to his name. More than half of those games have come at the Double-A level, but he’s reached Triple-A briefly in each of the last two years.<\/p>\n

Marrero elected free agency at the end of 2024 and signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers. After riding the bench for most of the season in the Rangers organization (he only got into 20 games between Double-A and Triple-A), it’s no surprise Marrero wanted a change of scenery. <\/p>\n

To this point, Marrero sports a career .691 OPS in the minors, including a .672 OPS in 184 Double-A games. Unless he makes big strides with the bat in a short window, he probably won’t have much of a chance to make it to the majors in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

The Royals have Salvador Perez, the team captain, as the aging veteran starter behind the plate. Rookie Carter Jensen, who burst onto the scene as a top prospect this past season, then shined in his brief September debut.<\/p>\n

In all likelihood, the signings of Alfaro and Marrero are good news for Jensen making the major league roster out of spring training. Mitchell won’t likely debut in Triple-A until later this year, so the Royals will need catchers to help log innings at that level in the meantime.<\/p>\n

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