With 21-year-old catcher Salvador Perez out at least three months following knee surgery, Kansas City could turn to Ivan Rodriguez. The same Ivan Rodriguez who's 40 years old and has a .281 OBP in 44 games with Washington last year.
Of course, catchers just don't grow on trees. But it'd be a shame if the Royals didn't consider former White Sox backup Ramon Castro, who joins Rodriguez as the only other free agent catcher on the market.
While Rodriguez has posted an OBP below .300 in four of the last five seasons, Castro has proven to be a more than capable backup over the last few years. He was fantastic for the White Sox in 2010, mashing lefties to help boost his OPS to .832, serving as the perfect complement to A.J. Pierzynski. He suffered a broken right hand last August, but he should be fully healed from that at this point.
Defensively, Rodriguez is probably still superior to the 36-year-old Castro. And maybe he'd be a better overall fit, especially on such a young team. But still, it'd be a shame if Castro can't find work as a backup somewhere by Opening Day.