Royals sign former All-Star Game MVP amid extreme catching uncertainty

One of the more underappreciated needs of the Royals' offseason was finding suitable catching depth to slot in behind captain Salvador Perez and top prospect Carter Jensen, potentially even a third major league backstop like they deployed last year.

While they haven't made any major league signings to address this, they've added multiple big league veterans on minor league contracts. They added the once promising prospect Jorge Alfaro and re-united with their third catcher last year, Luke Maile.

However, both of those names have had their fair share of question marks swirling around them at the start of camp. Alfaro has yet to report to Surprise due to Visa issues and Luke Maile has unfortunately been taken off the roster for the time being due to personal issues.

Amid this catching conundrum, the Royals took further steps to address the depth behind Perez and Jensen by signing former All-Star Game MVP Elias Díaz to a minor league contract with a invite to spring training, which the team announced he'll be joining them next week.

Royals add another third catcher's option by signing former All-Star Elias Díaz

While Luca Tresh might be a farmhand option sitting in Triple-A Omaha, given the fact they already sported a veteran third catcher last season in Maile and already have a relatively inexperienced option in Jensen, it seems as though the experienced route could the most promising avenue.

This is why Maile and Alfaro seemed to be the frontrunners to land this role considering their experience as big league reserves.

However, Maile's uncertain status for 2026 and Alfaro's arrival to camp already delayed just to to be cut short as he gets set to play for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic, it's reasonable to believe the third position on the catcher's depth chart is as open as ever.

From an offensive standpoint, Díaz is limited in what he can provide, with a 91 wRC+ in 2021 being his best output at the plate since his 114 wRC+ breakout back in 2018.

However, with three seasons above a .245 AVG and 80 wRC+ in the past five, he demonstrates enough upside for a potential reserve catcher.

On top of that, Díaz still profiles as an above average defensive catcher, sporting 87th percentile pop time in 2025, along with 65th percentile framing and a 61st percentile blocks above average clip.

The vision is certainly their with this signing and it seems as though it couldn't come at a better time for the Royals given their delicate catching balance.