Friday has been a busy day for the Kansas City Royals thus far.
The Royals traded for former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star reliever Matt Strahm on Friday morning. Next, they pivoted to signing a new corner infielder to compete for playing time when they head to spring training in Arizona.
According to a report from Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, the Royals are in agreement with infielder Abraham Toro on a minor-league contract for the upcoming season. He will be initially assigned to Triple-A Omaha, but will try to win a spot on the major league roster in spring training.
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Abraham Toro becomes Royals’ newest addition
Toro, once a fifth-round pick and decent prospect in the Houston Astros’ system, has been on a roller-coaster ride for the last handful of seasons. After getting traded from the Astros to the Seattle Mariners at the 2021 deadline, he has gone on to play for the Milwaukee Brewers, Athletics, and Boston Red Sox.
This season, Toro was forced into duty for the Red Sox when first baseman Triston Casas hit the injured list at the beginning of May with a torn patellar tendon, which ended his season. He played 77 games, slashing .239/.289/.371 with seven home runs, posting negative-0.2 rWAR.
Toro got off to a hot start in May and early June, which helped keep the Red Sox afloat before they called up No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony. All the while, as he was playing first base in Boston, the Red Sox were being denied by Rafael Devers behind the scenes when asking him to play first, eventually leading to a trade to the San Francisco Giants.
Toro turns 29 on Saturday, and with 1.2 WAR in 442 career games, the Royals probably aren’t expecting him to be a superstar. Maikel Garcia won’t lose any playing time at third base, but if the switch-hitting Toro makes the roster, perhaps he could occasionally spell Vinnie Pasquantino at first if he needs a day off against a tough lefty.
That’s putting the cart before the horse, though. Toro is in no way guaranteed to make the team, but at the very least, he’s valuable minor-league depth for the Royals to bring to Arizona.
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