FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A potential trade partner for the Red Sox evaporated Saturday with the news the Kansas City Royals signed free-agent catcher Martin Maldonado.
According to a baseball source, the Royals had, for the last few days, been gathering information on Blake Swihart and asking others for their evaluation of him.
The source suggested the Royals, while still uncertain whether Swihart was ready to step in and assume the responsibilities of being a No. 1 catcher, were intrigued by his potential upside and positional versatility.
Ideally, Swihart could be of more value to a team in the National League, where pinch-hitting is more common and where double-switching is more prevalent.
But this late in the spring, there are fewer teams looking for catching help and the Red Sox have been unable to generate more interest for a trade.
The signing of Maldonado for $2.5 million, however, would seem to take the Royals out on Swihart.
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