The Kansas City Royals announced Wednesday that they requested unconditional release waivers on 30-year-old catcher Tony Cruz. The Royals acquired Cruz on December 2, 2015 in return for then 19-year-old shortstop Jose Martinez.
At the time, I believed the trade meant Kansas City would non-tender Drew Butera. Instead, Butera enjoyed his best season in MLB while slashing .285/.328/.480 in 133 at bats. Meanwhile, Cruz spent most of the year at AAA Omaha. But, this season Dayton Moore apparently decided he couldn’t afford to spend around $1 million to park a third catcher at Omaha in 2017.