The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Luke Maile. Infielder Tyler Tolbert was optioned to Triple-A Omaha to open an active roster spot. To get Maile onto the 40-man, right-hander Alec Marsh was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
The Royals already have Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin on the roster, so this move gives them three catchers. However, Perez was removed from last night’s game due to left hip soreness, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Perez hasn’t been placed on the injured list but he’s not in the lineup today.
Perhaps he’ll be unavailable for a few days, which would explain why Maile is now up with the club. The 34-year-old veteran signed a minor league deal with the Royals in the offseason. He opted out when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster but returned on a fresh deal shortly thereafter.
He is out to a strong start in Triple-A, hitting .286/.434/.381, though a .379 batting average on balls in play is helping him out somewhat in a small sample. For his big league career, he’s generally been a glove-first guy. He has a .208/.274/.319 batting line in 1,250 plate appearances but comes with a strong reputation for his throwing, blocking and work with a pitching staff. He should back up Fermin while Perez gets a breather.
As for Marsh, it’s not surprising to see him hit the 60-day IL. He has been battling shoulder soreness since the offseason and has spent the entire season on the 15-day IL so far. As of about a week ago, he was slated to restart his throwing program after a setback. The 60-day clock is retroactive to the start of the season, so he is eligible for reinstatement later this month. But given his current status, he’ll need far longer than that to get in game shape.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
No London series this year, but now there’s Royal Maile.
Maile it in.
May the Force be with you, Luke.
Luke, the Dude
Oh Luke Maile came
Good to see Luke getting a shot with the Royals. I love seeing kids from the Greater Cincinnati area playing in the big leagues. From the 60’s to the late 80’s Cincinnati used to produce more major leaguers than anywhere else in the country with the St. Louis area number two.
Since the 90’s though, it has been California and Florida kids making it to the big leagues at a far more frequent rate than anywhere else in the country.