BALTIMORE -- The Royals made a handful of roster moves on Friday, recalling catcher Luke Maile and optioning infielder Tyler Tolbert to Triple-A Omaha prior to Kansas City's 3-0 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards.
The moves come after Salvador Perez, who had played in 31 of Kansas City’s 32 games, was out of the lineup after exiting in the sixth inning of the series finale vs. Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Perez is dealing with lingering left hip soreness -- an issue, per manager Matt Quatraro, that is persistent but under control and only flared up on Thursday.
“It isn't new,” Quatraro said pregame. “It's the same hip soreness that he's had. We feel really fortunate that there wasn't something new. So it's just -- I won't say just -- but it's day to day, and hopefully we can stay away from him for a couple days catching-wise, and that's why we activated Maile.”
Perez had been starting to heat up at the plate, hitting .423 with a 1.136 OPS in his past seven games after concluding play on April 22 with a .185 average. He should be able to pick back up where he left off while backup catcher Freddy Fermin and Maile hold down the fort.
Fermin and Perez have split starting duties thus far, with Perez getting 18 starts behind the plate while making seven starts at first and six as designated hitter. Fermin, meanwhile, has hit .260 in his 19 games, though he -- along with Perez and the rest of the Royals’ lineup -- has also heated up of late (a .318 average in his past seven games).
Maile, signed to a Minor League deal in February with an invitation to Major League camp, got to know Kansas City’s arms during Spring Training. Though his focus (rightfully so) has been on handling the Storm Chasers’ pitchers, he still remembers a fair amount about the big league group.
“Gonna be relying pretty heavily on those experiences,” Maile said pregame. “And that's kind of why, in Spring Training, you have to really treat it [as] what could be your last opportunity to catch a guy before a really important pitch is made. So you have to really stay on your game there. It's not really something you can take lightly, because it'll come back to bite you if you do.”
Entering his 10th season in the Majors with the selection to the big league roster, Maile has plenty of experience working as a backup catcher and navigating an up-and-down role. He’s hit .286 in 12 games with Omaha, including one homer. But beyond the metrics, Maile feels good both at and behind the plate.
“Main thing is my body feels really strong,” Maile said pregame. “I’m getting into my mid-30s, but I still feel really good. I still feel by no means fast or anything like that, but I feel like I still move a little bit. Bat speed’s been there, and I was able to get a couple hits, just competitive at-bats, and I feel pretty good receiving behind the plate right now.”
Plus, Maile -- who spent the past two years with Cincinnati -- is reunited with teammate Jonathan India, among others Maile has played alongside while spending time with Tampa Bay, Toronto, Milwaukee and Cleveland, too.
“It's the highest level in the world for a reason,” Maile said. “So seeing these guys up close and personal and being teammates with them is refreshing. Been competing against all these guys for a long time, and just tough at-bats up and down this lineup. The pitching staff has always been super consistent here, so to kind of be on the other side of it, to be with these guys is awesome.”