Royals add catcher Luke Maile as Salvador Perez deals with hip soreness

Maile is a nine-year MLB veteran.

The Royals announced they have selected catcher Luke Maile from Triple-A Omaha and have optioned infielder Tyler Tolbert. To make room on the 40-man roster, pitcher Alec Mash has been transferred to the 60-day Injured List.

The transaction was necessitated when Salvador Perez suffered a hip injury in Thursday’s game against the Rays, causing him to exit the game. Luke Maile is a nine-year MLB veteran with the Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers, Guardians, and Reds. He’s a liftime .208/.274/.319 hitter, serving as a backup catcher known for his defense. Last year he appeared in 53 games with the Reds and hit .178/.268/.252 in 154 plate appearances. He did have the second-highest caught stealing rate in the National League, nabbing 30.6 percent of would-be base-stealers. The 34-year-old was hitting .286/.434/.381 with one home run in 12 games for Omaha.

Tolbert is sent down after appearing in 13 games with the Royals, mostly as a pinch-hitter. He was a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts, but was 0-for-5 at the plate with three strikeouts.

Moving Marsh to the 60-day Injured List just means he won’t be able to be activated until at least the end of May. He suffered right shoulder soreness in spring training, then suffered a setback in his rehab and has been sent back to Arizona.