Kansas City Royals didn’t need to bring in Martin Maldonado

The Kansas City Royals signed catcher Martin Maldonado to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million. This wasn’t a move that needed to be made.

When the news broke that Salvador Perez would miss the 2019 season due to needing Tommy John surgery, the Kansas City Royals had a decision to make. They could either sign a catcher on the free agent market or roll with one of their prospects as the backup to Cam Gallagher.

The Royals opted to go the free agent route, signing Martin Maldonado to a one-year contract. The catcher market was slim pickings and Maldonado was the best option still out there waiting for a contract.

I understand why the Royals made this move, but in a rebuilding year, letting a prospect see meaningful action in meaningful games seemed like the way to go. The Royals called up Meibrys Viloria in September last year and he seemed like a potential option for them to have behind Gallagher this year.

The Royals also had been flirting with having Frank Schwindel behind the dish. Schwindel has mostly been a first baseman and designated hitter during his time in the Royals organization, but moving him to catcher made sense considering the circumstances.

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Now with Maldonado on the team, will Gallagher even be the starting catcher? He might not be the long-term answer at catcher moving forward, but he deserves the opportunity to be the predominant starter in 2019. He was blocked by Drew Butera the past two seasons and now Gallagher deserves playing time.

Maldonado is a fine catcher, there’s no debating that. He won a Gold Glove in 2017 (beating Perez out for it actually) and has shown he can be a reliable option at the position. Offensively he’s not great, but catchers usually aren’t putting up great numbers at the plate.

The argument against signing Maldonado isn’t about his talent though. The guy is a decent option at the position and his Gold Glove proves that.

My issue with this signing is that this season is going to be a wash and there was no need to bring someone in. Gallagher could have been the starter and Viloria, Schwindel, or another minor league guy could have been called up should the backup have struggled.

Dayton Moore won’t admit that the team is rebuilding, which is frustrating, so that’s why this move was made. Hopefully Maldonado being a catcher for the Royals doesn’t block Cam Gallagher or another prospect from getting quality playing time.