The nine-year MLB vet will provide catching depth.
The Royals announced they have signed catcher Luke Maile to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The 34-year-old Maile is a nine-year MLB veteran as a backup catcher with a lifetime line of .208/.274/.319.
Maile was originally drafted by the Rays in 2012 out of Kentucky. He made his MLB debut with them in 2015 before being claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays in 2017. His best season came with them in 2018 when he was a 1 rWAR player, hitting .248/.333/.366 with a career-high 231 plate appearances. He would go on to spend time in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Last year he appeared in 53 games with the Reds and hit .178/.268/.252 in 154 plate appearances. He did have the second-highest caught stealing rate in the National League, nabbing 30.6 percent of would-be base-stealers.
Maile is one of nine catchers in big league camp, along with Freddy Fermin, Kyle Hayes, Omar Hernandez, Carter Jensen, Blake Mitchell, Brian O’Keefe, Salvador Perez, Luca Tresh. He seems likely to split time with O’Keefe in Omaha to begin the season with Tresh and Jensen also options at AAA.