KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Catcher Miguel Olivo signed a one-year
contract with the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
The 29-year-old was the Florida Marlins' primary catcher the
past two seasons and batted .237 in 2007.
Olivo was not tendered a contract by the Marlins before becoming
a free agent. Florida acquired catching prospect Mike Rabelo from
Detroit in a trade this month.
The Royals and Olivo each hold options for the 2009 season.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 6-foot, 220-pound Olivo has thrown out 31.2 percent of
attempted base stealers the past two seasons, the fourth-best in
the National League. Olivio also has played for the Chicago White
Sox, Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, hitting .239 in his career with 61 home
runs and 224 RBI in 556 games.
"Miguel is a talented catcher with a power bat and a very
strong throwing arm," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said.
"With him and John Buck, they form one of the most powerful catching duos in baseball."