Royals sign C Francisco Pena to free-agent contract

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Royals have signed catcher Francisco Pena and added him to the 40-man roster.

The 24-year-old Pena, the son of former Royals manager Tony Pena, has spent the past six years in the New York Mets organization. He hit .257 last season for Triple-A Las Vegas with nine homers and 39 RBIs. He committed just three errors and threw out 30 percent of stolen-base attempts.

Pena was also a member of the champion Dominican Republic squad in this past year's World Baseball Classic, where he was 1 for 2 with an RBI in two tournament games.

The Royals announced the move on Sunday. Pena is expected to battle for the backup catcher's job.