The Kansas City Royals have announced the trade of veteran catcher Drew Butera to the Colorado Rockies. In return, the Royals picked up minor league left-handed pitcher Jerry Vasto, who will be sent to the Royals Triple-A affiliate in Omaha.
In a corresponding roster move, Kansas City is recalling catcher Cam Gallagher from Omaha, and is reinstating outfielder Brian Goodwin from the disabled list.
The 26-year old Vasto pitched most of this season at Colorado’s AAA affiliate in Albuquerque, putting up a 2-1 record and an ERA of 31.6 in 37 relief appearances, holding the opposition to a .232 batting average. He debuted for the Rockies on June 10th, with 2/3 innings of work against the Diamondbacks.
The 35-year old Butera was in his fourth season with Kansas City, after being acquired from the Angels in 2015. This season, the primary backup to All-Star Salvador Perez was hitting .188 with 2 homers and 18 RBI’s.