The Royals announced Monday that they’ve signed first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty and infielder Jermaine Palacios to minor league contracts. Both will be active at the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Omaha this week.
Beaty, 30, returns to the Royals after spending all of 2023 spring training with them. The Giants acquired Beaty just prior to the start of the season and carried him on their Opening Day roster, but he was optioned in mid-April and designated for assignment at the end of May. Beaty cleared outright waivers and rejected a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
The rebuilding Royals have now liked Beaty enough to ink him to a minor league deal twice in the past several months. He’ll rejoin the organization after batting .272/.406/.477 in 129 Triple-A plate appearances with the Giants’ Sacramento affiliate. Notably, Beaty’s return also aligns with some uncertainty regarding first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. The 25-year-old Pasquantino was placed on the injured list due to shoulder soreness over the weekend, and he’s headed for an MRI today. Nick Pratto is likely to step in and take the bulk of the playing time at first base for however long Pasquantino is sidelined, but Beaty gives the Royals another lefty-swinging hitter who can fill a first base/corner outfield/designated hitter role.
Beaty struggled through a miserable showing with the Padres in 2022, though his .093/.170/.163 batting line came in a sample of just 47 plate appearances. It’s understandable enough why the Padres opted to quickly move on, but in 556 prior plate appearances with the Dodgers from 2019-21, he posted a solid .262/.333/.425 batting line.
Even if Pasquantino doesn’t end up missing much time at all, there’s a chance Beaty could play his way onto Kansas City’s big league roster. Veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. hasn’t hit whatsoever with the Royals, and catching/outfield prospect MJ Melendez has struggled mightily while playing primarily in the outfield. Utilityman Nate Eaton and outfielder Kyle Isbel have also struggled. Veteran corner options like Hunter Dozier and Franmil Reyes, meanwhile, have both been released. At present, Edward Olivares is the only full-time Royals outfielder who’s been at least average at the plate.
As for the 26-year-old Palacios, he was once a well-regarded prospect with the division-rival Twins, who traded him to the Rays in exchange for righty Jake Odorizzi several years ago. Palacios didn’t hit much in the Rays organization and returned to the Twins on a minor league deal prior to the 2021 season. He had a pair of solid minor league seasons in 2021-22 and even made his big league debut with the ’22 Twins. However, in 77 plate appearances he batted just .143/.184/.229.
Palacios hit .283/.341/.462 in 428 Triple-A plate appearances for the Twins a season ago, but he opened the year with the Tigers’ top affiliate and got out to just a .176/.232/.352 start in 138 plate appearances. Detroit released him just last week. He’s a quality defender who, in addition to that strong year with the Twins’ St. Paul affiliate in 2022, posted a huge showing in the Dominican Winter League this offseason (.400/.471/.633 in 138 plate appearances). He can play any of shortstop, second base and third base at an above-average level.
“Meanwhile” belongs at the start of the sentence, not in the middle of it, set off by commas.