36 Cam Gallagher C

Gallagher will start at catcher and bat eighth Saturday against the Yankees.

Gallagher is picking up just his fifth start of the season, as manager Ned Yost has ridden top backstop Martin Maldonado heavily early on. Unless Maldonado falls victim to injury or is traded, Gallagher probably won't be in store for primary duties behind the plate at any point in 2019.

Gallagher will sit out his fifth consecutive game with Martin Maldonado starting at catcher Wednesday.

Gallagher is yet to appear in a game as a starter or as a late-inning replacement with Maldonado spending the entire time behind the dish. Gallagher was initially expected to be the starter after veteran All-Star Salvador Perez underwent Tommy John surgery in March, but the Royals elected to go in a different direction after signing Maldonado at the end of spring training. For now, it looks like Gallagher's starts will be few and far between.

Gallagher is no longer expected to be the Royals' starting catcher after the team signed Martin Maldonado on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Gallagher temporarily seemed to be in line for a starting gig after Salvador Perez was ruled out for the season for Tommy John surgery at the start of March, but that role was always contingent on the Royals not bringing in an external option. It's still possible Gallagher could carve out a significant role, as Maldonado is a veteran unlikely to be around more than one year who owns a career 72 wRC+.

Gallagher could start a larger than expected number of games this season, as Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that starting catcher Salvador Perez is likely to require Tommy John surgery.

Assuming Perez does indeed undergo the procedure, he'll miss the entirety of the 2019 season. Gallagher currently appears to have an unquestioned role as the next in line, though the Royals could move to bring in another catcher. Gallagher's .206/.250/.302 line last season seems to make that an appealing alternative, though that line did come in a small sample of just 69 plate appearances, so it's possible he has room to improve. Martin Maldonado is the top remaining free agent catcher and could be brought in to split time, though the Royals may be fine with giving at-bats to Gallagher as a younger, in-house option.

Gallagher (undisclosed) is back in the lineup Thursday against the Padres.

Gallagher was scratched from Wednesday's lineup for unknown reasons. Whatever the issue was, it was apparently a minor one, as he'll wind up missing just a single game.