The Royals sent veteran catcher Elias Díaz outright to Triple-A Omaha, according to the MLB.com transaction log. It’s unclear if he’ll report or elect free agency.
Díaz was designated for assignment last week when K.C. recalled speedy outfielder Tyler Tolbert. Kansas City had carried three catchers for the previous five weeks. Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen have each logged a lot of designated hitter work. Díaz gave skipper Matt Quatraro a little more flexibility for rest days. Jensen and Perez have alternated starts between catcher and DH over the past four games.
The 35-year-old Díaz picked up seven starts among his 10 games during his five weeks on the MLB roster. He popped a couple home runs and doubles apiece in 23 plate appearances. Díaz has been a below-average hitter throughout his career and hadn’t hit much in a tiny sample with Omaha before his call-up. He batted .204/.270/.337 across 283 plate appearances for the Padres a year ago.
Díaz has a plus arm and routinely throws out base stealers at a strong rate. He graded poorly as a receiving catcher early in his career but has tightened those numbers up in recent seasons. If he reports to Omaha, he’ll rejoin Luke Maile as non-roster depth catchers whom the Royals could call upon if one of Perez or Jensen is banged up.
