Kansas City adds catching depth as they look to take chances in free agency.
The Kansas City Royals might have missed the playoffs in 2025 after posting an 82-80 record, but that hasn't stopped them from getting to work this offseason.
On January 5th, the team agreed to a minor league deal with veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball.
A Familiar Name Looking for Another Shot
If Alfaro's name rings a bell, there's a good reason for that.
The 32-year-old Colombian was once one of the most talked-about catching prospects in baseball, and he's spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues bouncing between the Phillies, Marlins, Padres, Rockies, Red Sox, and Nationals.
Over more than 1,700 career plate appearances, he's put together a .253 batting average with 48 home runs and a .692 OPS.
Alfaro's best days came early in his career when he was splitting time between Philadelphia and Miami from 2017 to 2019, hitting .269 with 33 home runs during that stretch and showing off one of the strongest arms in the game behind the plate.
But consistent playing time has been hard to come by lately, and he hasn't been a regular starter since 2022.
Last season didn't do much to change that.
Alfaro spent most of 2025 in Triple-A with the Brewers organization, where he hit .244 with 15 home runs in 82 games but also struck out at a rough 36.5 percent clip.
He did get a brief September call-up with the Washington Nationals, but it wasn't much to write home about—just 14 games and a .256/.256/.308 slash line.
So Why Would Kansas City Want Him?
It's not like the Royals are desperate for catching help.
They've got team captain Salvador Perez locked in behind the plate, and Salvy put together another solid year in 2025 with a .236 average, 30 home runs, and 100 RBI.
He also hit some major career milestones along the way, joining Hall of Famer Johnny Bench as just the second primary catcher to reach both 300 home runs and 1,000 RBI with the same team.
Behind Perez, the Royals have Carter Jensen ready to take on a bigger role after a strong debut in September.
The Kansas City native, who grew up just 20 miles from Kauffman Stadium, hit .300 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 60 at-bats after getting called up, and he absolutely mashed in Triple-A before that with 20 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A.
With Perez and Jensen both expected to be on the Opening Day roster, plus prospects Blake Mitchell and Ramon Ramirez coming up through the system, Alfaro is really more of an insurance policy than anything else.
He'll likely start the year in Triple-A Omaha, giving the Royals a veteran presence in the upper minors in case injuries or trades shake things up.
What Happens Now
The Royals carried a third catcher for much of 2025 since Perez spent plenty of time at first base and DH, and with Freddy Fermin traded to San Diego at the deadline and Luke Maile now a free agent, there's a spot in the organization that needs filling.
Alfaro fits that role, and his deal likely comes with an invite to big league spring training where he can at least make his case.
Realistically though, the best-case scenario for Alfaro might be playing well enough in Omaha that another team comes calling mid-season looking for catching help.
For the Royals, it's a low-risk move that adds depth as they try to bounce back and return to October baseball after their 2024 Wild Card run ended against the Yankees.