KANSAS CITY -- With rosters expanding Monday, the Royals had two easy options -- bring back their former top prospect and slugging lefty Jac Caglianone, who was on a rehab assignment, and give hard-throwing righty Luinder Avila another opportunity in the ‘pen after an efficient scoreless MLB debut just a few weeks ago.
The Royals announced Sunday night that they anticipate making those moves official Monday. Not much of a surprise.
But another name was listed in that transaction report as well -- this one unexpected -- but what he’s done this past year also made it an easy decision for Kansas City.
The Royals called up Carter Jensen, the club’s No. 2 prospect and MLB’s No. 69 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, having his contract selected from Triple-A Omaha ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Angels at Kauffman Stadium.
Jensen’s MLB debut will be the next major milestone in what has already been a transformative 18 months or so for the catching prospect who started last season in High-A Quad Cities.
Jensen, a third-round pick from the 2021 Draft out of Park Hill High School in Kansas City, will now have the opportunity to suit up for his hometown team.
The now 22-year-old began 2025 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he struggled into May due to what he believed was a mechanical issue with his swing, where he was pulling the ball instead of staying through it and focusing up the middle. The results once he addressed this issue was a significant increase in production, resulting in a promotion to Triple-A where he continued his tear at the plate.
The Royals have been extremely happy with Jensen’s growth behind the plate and as a leader, and he was selected as one of two Royals representatives at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, but what he’s done in the box has been just as impressive. In 43 games with the Storm Chasers, Jensen has crushed 14 homers and 11 doubles to go with a 1.051 OPS.
That performance is why the Royals are trusting Jensen to come up in the midst of a playoff push. With Salvador Perez handling a majority of the catching duties since Freddy Fermin was dealt to San Diego, Jensen’s arrival allows Perez to get more days at both first base and designated hitter. With Luke Maile on the roster currently, too, Kansas City could roster three catchers, as they have done at points this season.
For Caglianone, his arrival back to the big league club was more expected when the rosters expanded, but his everyday role was expected to diminish.
He’s been raking in Triple-A, though, evidenced by a .385 average with five homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games during his rehab assignment -- including a homer Saturday that traveled 451 feet, according to the team. That’s nothing new for Caglianone, who flashed that same power in the big leagues with a two-homer game in Texas and a Statcast-projected 466-foot laser against the Pirates, but he struggled with a high chase rate against offspeed pitches.
“There’s been some, I’ll say improvements, in those decisions, but right now, the league is not real challenging for him,” general manager J.J. Picollo said of Caglianone’s recent stretch in Triple-A. “It’s pretty evident that he’s strong enough and can hit the ball hard enough that he’s going to have success. Trying to evaluate that is hard, but he’s doing very much the same thing that he did before he got called up the last time.”
Picollo spoke on Friday regarding Caglianone’s fit with a club that is quite a bit different from the one he was around when he was placed on the injured list on July 27 with a left hamstring strain.
During Caglianone’s first stint in the Majors, the rookie was given significant playing time in right field as the Royals’ offense struggled to score runs or hit homers. But the Royals have been busy adding veterans that can play the outfield such as Adam Frazier, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk -- in addition to Michael Massey returning from the injured list.
The Royals already have four left-handed-hitting bats that can play the outfield. With Perez now expected to get more time at DH, that could also limit the amount of time Caglianone is in the lineup. But his power potential is too great to stay away from.
”We talked about it then, the ideal situation is when the offense is going good, to slide [Caglianone] in,” Picollo said. “Well the offense is good now, but we have guys that play the positions that he plays. So it makes it a little more difficult to see him getting on the field every day, but that’s OK, too. If he can help us win, that’s what we want.”