Esky returns on Minors deal; Zimmer update

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals are continuing to get the band back together. Alcides Escobar the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter for Kansas City’s 2014 and ’15 World Series teams, returned to the organization on Tuesday, signing a Minor League deal and reporting to Triple-A Omaha.

Escobar, 34, will make the Major League minimum ($570,500) if called up to the Majors, with $375,000 in performance bonuses, a source told MLB.com.

Escobar last played in the Majors in 2018 with the Royals, and he had Spring Training stints with the Orioles and White Sox in '19. He spent 2020 playing with the Yakult Swallows in Tokyo in the Japanese Central League.

With some of their middle infield depth tested in the Minor Leagues due to injury, Escobar will serve as a depth piece if the Royals need it at the Major League level. The bonus is Escobar’s veteran experience: He was the 2015 American League Championship Series MVP and a key figure on the World Series title team that year, winning a Glove Glove Award and making an All-Star appearance. In 31 career postseason games with Kansas City, he hit .311/.326/.467.

“What we’re talking about here is depth and trying to figure out ways to protect ourselves in a very unique position, which is playing in the middle of the infield,” manager Mike Matheny said. “Guys who’ve done that with success, there’s some things that they do that give us comfort knowing that if we get into a bind when we need help, that they can figure out ways to help us in the middle.

“That’s where it’s going to be more than anything else right now, and you always take those intangibles as far as past success and their contributions to a winning team. Never take those for granted.”

Escobar is the latest member of the 2014-15 Royals to rejoin the organization over the past two years. Relievers Greg Holland and Wade Davis, as well as outfielder Jarrod Dyson, have all returned and are on the 26-man roster.

Rivero ‘can’t stop smiling’

With catcher Cam Gallagher’s status uncertain after taking two foul balls off his facemask on Sunday, catcher Sebastian Rivero woke up early Monday morning to get to Kansas City in case the Royals needed him on the roster. When he got to the clubhouse for the first time, he was greeted with congratulations from his teammates, but he kept waiting and waiting to see if he would be activated.

After the club's pregame work on the field, Matheny told him that he would be in uniform on Monday night and for at least the next week with Gallagher going on the seven-day concussion injured list. That’s when Rivero started celebrating, and some say he hasn’t stopped smiling since.

“Even though yesterday was a tough game for us, I couldn’t stop smiling,” Rivero said on Tuesday. “That’s one of the news you’ve been waiting for since you started this career. I was really happy. I was actually speechless a bit at the beginning. I was just smiling, smiling, smiling, because it was a moment I will never forget.”

Rivero, 22, has always been highly regarded in the organization for his defensive skills, but his bat has improved dramatically the past year, giving the Royals even more confidence as he’s worked through the farm system. He constantly worked on his swing with hitting coaches and began to see it all click over the past year.

Rivero stood out enough at the alternate training site and fall camp last year for the Royals to add him to the 40-man roster in the offseason, and he further impressed in Spring Training.

“He’s made some of our other catchers in the system better by just how hard he works, and then meanwhile, surprise surprise, he’s getting better,” Matheny said. “I was so impressed last year when I came back and watched some of the things that were going on in the fall. Just watching the adjustments he made offensively, the confidence that he had.

“He’s a throwback for me, mechanically, when it comes to catching. He’s very sound as far as technique goes behind the plate. Throws really well, catches well, receives well. Pitchers love him because he’s conscientious behind the plate and wants to make them better.”

Rivero’s wife and son came with him to Kansas City, and his parents will soon join them. It’ll be the first time in almost two years Rivero has seen his parents, who live in Venezuela. When he was asked about what it will be like to have them here, his smile said it all.

“I can’t imagine that moment,” Rivero said.

Worth noting

Reliever Kyle Zimmer (left trapezius strain) is improving, but he is still getting full range of motion after his shoulder muscle locked up on him last week. The Royals won’t have him throw until he has full range to avoid compensating with his mechanics.