KC Royals Lineup: 3 big questions behind the plate

Question 2: Who will be the main backup catcher for the KC Royals this year?

Kansas City fans may have been a bit surprised when the club added catcher Freddy Fermin to its 40-man roster to protect him from last December's Rule 5 Draft. That the Royals made the move was, though, logical given Perez's length of service and age and the emergence of MJ Melendez as an everyday player.

Melendez debuted in May and although his .217 129-game batting average was, and is, concerning, his 18 homers and 62 RBIs mean he needs to play every day on a team struggling to compete. Catching every day, though, something the Royals apparently want Melendez to do eventully, is out of the question as long as Perez remains productive and healthy.

So, Kansas City's effort to make Melendez a left fielder, at least for the time being, will continue this spring and into the regular season and raise another issue: who will back up Perez, Melendez or Fermin?

Unless the club trades for or signs another backstop, or breaks spring camp with prospect Logan Porter (more on him in a moment). the answer is "both." Fair to say is that the Royals still consider Melendez to be their catcher of the future so, to improve his catching skills, Quatraro will most often substitute Melendez for Perez when the latter takes a day off or DH's. Fermin will get some work, though, primarily in the late innings or when Melendez needs a break.

And Fermin is Quatraro's insurance in case injury or other circumstances force Perez and Melendez out of the same game.

And the third question is...

Question 3: Can the KC Royals find a roster spot for catcher Logan Porter?

Should the Royals so choose, they can look elsewhere than Fermin for an internal option to back up Perez and, occasionally, Melendez behind the plate. And that might be their best course of action.

Left off the 40-man roster and thus exposed to the Rule 5 draft was Logan Porter, a promising hitter who we suggested at the time was arguably deserving of neither circumstance. He may well be a better choice for a spot on the Opening Day roster than Fermin.

The reasons are these. While both are adequate defensively, Porter's bat is a bit better than Fermin's and he's more versatile. Splitting last season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha, Porter batted .301, posted a stellar .442 OBP, hit 13 homers, and drove in 62 runs while Fermin hit .270 with a ,365 OBP, clubbed 15 homers, and had 56 RBIs at Omaha. (Fermin also went 0-for-7 with the Royals in three games as one of the 10 replacements for KC players whose vaccination statuses prevented them from playing a series against Toronto in Canada).

In four minor league seasons, Porter has 37 home runs, 160 RBIs and a .293/.428/.497 line; in six minor league campaigns, Fermin has just three more homers than Porter, 219 RBIs, and a .268/.350/.408 slash. Porter has actually played more at first base than behind the plate (125 games to 82), and even has some experience at third. Fermin has caught and DH'd.

Conceivably, then, the Royals could choose to keep Porter when spring training ends, giving them a decent third catcher, a good bat off the bench, and a player capable of working behind the plate and at first and third bases.

Will they find that kind of spot for Porter? We shall see.

How will the Royals answer their three catching questions?