Royals Release Jorge Alfaro After a Power-Packed Minor League Season

A crowded path to Kansas City

Jorge Alfaro’s power still gives teams a reason to look, but his strikeout rate remains the central question. The Royals released the 33-year-old catcher, according to his MILB.com transaction tracker, sending him into free agency after a season spent in Kansas City’s minor league system. The move ends a route back to the majors that never opened into a game appearance: Alfaro signed a minor league deal in December, received an invitation to big league spring training, and then spent the season in the organization’s farm system.

He also joined Team Colombia for the World Baseball Classic during spring action. That gave him another setting in which to play, but it didn’t change the basic question facing clubs: can his power outweigh the outs that come with his approach at the plate? For a catcher seeking a roster spot, that calculation can be especially narrow. Teams have to weigh offense against the demands of the position, while also deciding whether a player’s role would justify carrying a bat with a high strikeout rate.

Kansas City’s depth chart left little room. The club opened the season with Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen as its catching options, then turned to veterans Elias Diaz and Luke Maile when Perez was banged up. Alfaro never got a major league opportunity. The sequence points to a practical limitation, not a verdict on one particular skill: even a useful power threat needs a clear opening, and the Royals had other catchers available when they needed help.

The numbers behind the trade-off

Across 62 games at Double-A and Triple-A, Alfaro hit .223/.287/.468 with 15 home runs and one stolen base. The slugging percentage and home run total show why a club might still take a call on him. But the supporting line is less reassuring: he struck out in 41.5% of his plate appearances. That rate makes it hard to treat the power as a complete answer, since frequent strikeouts can limit how often a hitter reaches base or puts pressure on a defense.

The split isn’t new. In nine MLB seasons with six clubs, Alfaro has struck out in 34% of his 1,749 plate appearances, and his rate topped 30% whenever he had semi-regular playing time. That history matters more than any single stretch in the minors. A brief run of home runs can make the bat look tempting, but a club evaluating him has to ask whether the strikeouts are a temporary feature of a particular season or a persistent cost attached to his power.

There’s no firm answer in these numbers alone. Minor league production can show what a player is doing in a given stretch, while his major league record offers a longer view of the same tension. Neither establishes what Alfaro would do in a new role or with a different club. What they do make clear is the trade-off: the power is visible, and so is the contact problem. That’s the part a team would have to accept rather than assume away.

Power remains the selling point

There are still tools to sell. During a brief stint with the Nationals in 2025, Alfaro averaged 75.9 mph in bat speed and reached a 113.3 mph maximum exit velocity. His sprint speed ranked in the 72nd percentile, too. Those measurements help explain why his profile can draw interest even when his batting line raises concerns: he can hit the ball hard, and his speed gives him another athletic trait for a catcher.

But a maximum exit velocity describes a peak, not how often a hitter produces that kind of contact. The same caution applies to the power totals from his minor league season. Fifteen home runs in 62 games is a meaningful part of the case for Alfaro, yet it has to be read alongside the .223 average, .287 on-base percentage, and 41.5% strikeout rate. The impressive number and the uncomfortable ones belong in the same evaluation.

This is more significant than it looks. A backup catcher may not need to carry an offense, but the job still depends on a club seeing enough value in the player’s available role. If you're working in this space, the question isn’t simply whether Alfaro can hit for power; it’s whether that power comes often enough to offset the lost plate appearances, given the alternatives already on a roster. (And this is the part most people overlook.) A roster spot is a limited resource, even when the player being considered has a standout tool.

What a next opportunity would require

At this stage, Alfaro’s contact skills are unlikely to change much. A club looking for a backup catcher with power could still take a chance on him, provided it can live with the strikeouts. The release leaves that possibility open by making him a free agent, but it doesn’t tell us whether a team will see a fit or what role it might offer. The available facts support a measured case: he has an established power profile, a long record of high strikeout rates, and a recent season in which both traits remained visible.

That said, the value of a player can depend on what a team needs at a given moment. If a club wants a catcher who can add power in a limited role, Alfaro’s bat speed and hard contact could be appealing. If it needs reliable at-bats or a broader offensive contribution, the strikeout history may be harder to absorb. No guarantee. His next chance, if one comes, will likely turn on how a team balances those needs against the alternatives available to it.

For now, his season ends with a familiar tension rather than a clean resolution. Alfaro can still hit the ball with force, but he hasn’t shown that the contact issue has receded. Teams have a reason to look; they also have a clear reason to hesitate.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images