Royals sign Matt Beaty and Jermaine Palacios to minor league deals

The Royals announced they have signed Matt Beaty and Jermaine Palacios to minor league deals, assigning them to Triple-A Omaha.

Beaty was in spring training with the Royals, but didn’t make the club and was traded to the Giants for cash considerations. He was up for just five plate appearances with the Giants, and hit .272/.406/.447 with four home runs in 30 games for their top minor league affiliate before they designated him for assignment at the end of May. Beaty is a left-handed bat who can play first base, corner outfield, and a little third base. The 30-year-old has been a valuable bench bat in the big leagues, mostly with the Dodgers, hitting .249/.319/.403 with 18 home runs in 608 plate appearances.

Palacios is a right-handed hitting infielder out of Venezuela who began his career in the Twins organization. In 2018 he was traded to the Rays for pitcher Jake Odorizzi, but his bat stalled out in the upper minors. He re-signed with the Twins as a minor league free agent, and made his MLB debut last year. He appeared in 30 games and hit .143/.184/.229 with two home runs, playing every single infield position and even pitching two games. After the season he was designated for assignment and signed a minor league deal with the Tigers. He hit just .176/.232/.352 for their top minor league affiliate before being released last week.

The Royals also announced that outfielder John Rave and pitchers Alec Marsh and Will Klein will be promoted to Omaha. With five players added to the roster today, it seems possible that there could be some Storm Chasers promoted to Kansas City soon.