The Royals have signed catcher Martin Maldonado to a one-year, $2.5 million deal according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The deal includes $1.4 million in incentives that max out if he catches 100 games, according to Jon Heyman. Maldonado helps fill the void left by Salvador Perez, who had Tommy John surgery earlier this week and will miss the entire season.
The 32-year old Maldonado hit .225/.276/.351 with nine home runs in 119 games between the Angels and Astros last year, and was a 0.9 WAR player, according to Fangraphs. In eight Major League seasons he has hit .