(Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
The KC Royals can thank catcher Meibrys Viloria. He’s been there every time they’ve needed him, first in 2018 when the club plucked him from A-ball to back up Cam Gallagher after an injury felled Salvador Perez, then again a year later when Perez missed the season and the Royals traded Martin Maldonado, leaving Gallagher their only backstop.
The emergency work he performed gave Viloria valuable major league experience—52 games to be precise—but probably hampered the overall development and progress of a promising player who hadn’t played above Double-A in the minor leagues until this season.