Juan Graterol

Position: C
Born: 2/14/1989
Height: 6'1
Weight: 205
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent on January 12, 2016 (LAA). Originally signed as an international free agent (Venezuela) on September 6, 2005 (KCR).

Most Recent Stats at Time of Debut
CURRENT SEASON STATS: .300 with two homers, 23 RBIs and 10 doubles in 68 games at Salt Lake (Triple-A)

Info & MLB Debut Date
Recalled from Salt Lake on September 2.
MLB Debut Date: 9/2/2016

Debut Details
September 2, in an 11-8 loss to the Seattle Mariners. A late-game defensive replacement behind the plate, Graterol went 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in his lone plate appearance. He came into the game in the bottom of the eighth inning, replacing starting catcher Jett Bandy. In the top of the ninth, he came up with two outs and Andrelton Simmons on first base, facing reliever Arquimedes Caminero. He hit a line-drive double to left field, driving in Simmons, and eventually came around to score on Kole Calhoun’s single to right field.

Player Notes
This was Graterol’s second call-up of the 2016 season and this time, unlike the first, it culminated in his big league debut. He had been recalled back on July 18 when catcher Geovany Soto went on the DL and stuck with the club for almost a week without getting into a game before being sent back down on July 23. Now in his 11th pro season since signing in the fall of 2005 and making his pro debut with the Royals system in 2006, Graterol remained in the Royals’ organization through the 2014 season, spending that summer between Northwest Arkansas (Double-A) and Omaha (Triple-A) where he hit .278 with four homers and 30 RBIs in 77 games. He signed with the New York Yankees organization the following off-season and spent 2015 at three stops – Charleston, S.C. (Class A), Trenton (Double-A) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Triple-A) – hitting .198 in 28 games. Graterol, who also can play first base, combined for 12 homers in his 11 seasons, the first one coming in 2011.