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The Royals traded receiver Martin Maldonado to the Chicago Cubs, according to Ken Rosenthal. In return, the Royals will be united with pitcher Mike Montgomery, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Maldonado left Monday night's game in the sixth inning, suggesting the Royals had staged their second game in as many days. Jeffrey Flanagan confirms the Royals have officially announced the agreement.
The 29-year-old southpaw had been selected by the Royals with a 36th place finish in the 2008 edition, but was part of the deal with the Rays against James Shields. Montgomery finally found his way to the Cubs and was a usable pitcher from 2016 to 2018, posting a 3.35 ERA between rotation and marker, and peaked in 2017 as a 2.2 WAR player, according to Baseball Reference. However, he struggled this year with a 5.67 ERA and a low batting output ratio in 27 innings. Montgomery is not particularly young, but he will remain under club control until 2021. He will earn $ 2.44 million this year, roughly what the Royals were paying for Maldonado.
Maldonado, 32, hit .224 / .288 / .359 with six home runs in 73 games heading for action Monday night. The Royals had signed a $ 2.5 million one-year deal with Maldonado in March after learning that Salvador Perez would miss the season with an elbow injury.
Maldonado has never played much at bat, but he has been sought after for his framing ability, his ability to handle pitchers and his powerful arm behind the plate. He was a WAR 1.1 player this year, according to Baseball Reference. He rejected 33% of base-flight attempts and scored 3.1 above-average frame-rate, 19th-best baseball, according to the Baseball Flyer.
The Royals will recall receiver Meibrys Viloria of Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where the 22-year-old struck for .264 / .344 / .332 in 63 games. Montgomery will start at Bailey's place on Friday. The Royals will have to change their lineup to make way for Montgomery.
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