The Royals made a roster move to get some insurance behind the plate, selecting catcher Luke Maile’s contract and sending outfielder John Rave to Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding active roster move. To create the 40-man opening, they designated right-hander Eric Cerantola for assignment.
Maile is back in a familiar spot. The 35-year-old has already spent time with the Royals, appearing in 25 games for them last year, and he returned on a minor league deal for 2026.
Across his big league career, he has logged time with the Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers, Guardians, Reds and Royals, and has played in 465 games overall. His offensive numbers are light - a .209/.277/.320 slash line in 1,304 plate appearances - but he has earned a reputation for his work behind the plate, with 17 Defensive Runs Saved in his career.
FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus both rate him as an above-average framer, and Statcast and BP have him above par as a blocker.
The move comes with Salvador Perez dealing with a sore elbow, according to Thompson. The severity isn’t known, but the Royals clearly didn’t want to risk going with just one available catcher. Maile gives them another layer of coverage while Perez is out, and he can back up Carter Jensen without forcing the club into a precarious spot.
Cerantola is the player squeezed off the roster to make it happen. The 26-year-old was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft, and he reached the majors for the first time in May. In four big league appearances, he has allowed six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Now he enters DFA limbo, which can stretch up to a week. Waivers take 48 hours, so Kansas City could spend as long as five days gauging trade interest, though it can also move him to waivers sooner if it wants.
Even with that rough MLB sample, Cerantola could still attract attention because of what he has done in the minors. Since being promoted to Triple-A in August of 2024, he has worked 93 2/3 innings there with a 3.56 ERA. His 11.7% walk rate is a bit higher than average, but he has also struck out 30.7% of the hitters he has faced.
His arsenal includes a four-seamer that sits around 95 miles per hour and a low-90s cutter, but the pitch that draws the most praise is his mid-80s slider. FanGraphs ranked him as the No. 28 prospect in the system in April and pointed to that slider as the headliner. He remains optionable for the rest of this season and one more year, so it would not be a surprise if another club eventually grabs him in a small trade or on waivers.
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