The Royals provided some clarity on their plans for their Opening Day roster on Wednesday when they optioned catcher Freddy Fermin, infielder Maikel Garcia and first baseman Nick Pratto to Triple-A Omaha.

Fermin, who was added to the Royals' 40-man roster over the offseason after a breakout campaign in Omaha, was viewed as a candidate to serve as a third catcher behind Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez, who is expected to log significant innings in the outfield this year. The decision to option Fermin likely means that Kansas City will go into the season with only two backstops, though Jakson Reetz, who has two games of big league experience, and Logan Porter, who posted a .918 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A last year, remain in camp and have played well this spring.

The 23-year-old Garcia, a natural shortstop who is very highly regarded as a defender, saw his first action at third base and in center field this spring. He hit .355/.375/.516 in the Cactus League, but the Royals ultimately opted to let him play every day in the minors rather than having him break camp as a bench player with the major league club.

Pratto entered the spring with a chance to claim a role at first base or DH, and though he posted an impressive .313/.378/.438 slash line in Cactus League play, he struck out 13 times in 32 at-bats.

With Fermin, Garcia and Pratto headed to the minors, it appears likely that one or even several of the Royals' veteran non-roster position players, including Matt Beaty, Jackie Bradley Jr., Johan Camargo, Matt Duffy and Franmil Reyes, could be in line to make the Opening Day roster.