The Royals announced they have signed Utilityman’s contract Matt Beaty by Triple-A and placed second baseman Michael Massey on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand laceration. MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported earlier today that Beaty had a locker in the team’s clubhouse and that Massey was probably heading to IL with “a deep cut right down his ankle so he can’t move it much right now”. Vinnie Pasquantino (whose season was ended by shoulder surgery) was moved to 60 Day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Beaty.
After signing a minor league contract with Kansas City in January, Beaty was traded to the Giants on opening day and eventually featured in four games for San Francisco while being selected to the minors multiple times and eventually picked up for one game . Beaty opted to become a free agent rather than accept a direct assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, then returned to the Royals earlier this week on a new minor league contract.
Now it looks like Beaty is finally making his official debut in a KC jersey. The 30-year-old made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2019 and over the next three seasons averaged .262/.333/.425 on 556 part-time plate appearances, earning a World Series ring in 2020. Los Angeles traded Beaty to the Padres in March 2022, but the move to SoCal went poorly as Beaty only played 20 games for San Diego last season while missing most of the year with a shoulder injury.
Beaty has experience in both the infield and outfield corner positions, with first base and left field positions being his primary positions. He could help out at all four spots as well as the DH role at Kansas City, although first base since Beaty and maybe has a less frequent role Nick Prato are both left-handed. In what is already a lost season for the Royals, the team will certainly prioritize putting Pratto on the field every day as a glimmer of hope for the setback that caused Pasquantino’s shoulder injury.
However, Massey has spent most of the season at second base this season Matt Duffy, Nicky LopezAnd Maikel Garcia got some work done on the keystone as well due to draft reasons and because Massey didn’t hit much. The 25-year-old has hit .217/.279/.315 over 204 PA with four homers. Beaty’s availability at third base could open the door for Garcia or Lopez to play second base in Massey’s absence.