Royals sign veteran infielder Matt Duffy to a minor league deal

Jan 27, 2023 - 6:16 PM

The Royals announced they have signed veteran infielder Matt Duffy to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. The 32-year-old has spent seven years in the big leagues with the Giants, Rays, Cubs, and Angels. Last year he played in 77 games for Los Angeles and hit .250/.308/.311.

Duffy was originally drafted by the Giants out of Long Beach State and he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2015, hitting .295/.335/.428 for San Francisco. He was traded to Tampa Bay in 2016 in a deal for pitcher Matt Moore, but missed the entire 2017 season with an Achilles injury. In 2018 with the Rays, he played under then-coach Matt Quatraro, who now manages the Royals. Duffy bounced back to become league-average that year, but his lack of power caused him to become a journeyman after that.

Duffy brings a high-contact approach with few strikeouts, and a solid defensive glove with the ability to play all infield positions. He is a right-handed bat that can pair well with lefties like Michael Massey and Nicky Lopez against tough lefties. Most of his playing time has been at third base, so he could compete with Hunter Dozier and Johan Camargo for a starting role there.

Duffy is known as “Duffman” by teammates, after the Simpsons character.