Royals Sign Former Pirates Infielder Who Pretty Much Has Harry Houdini's Given Name

The Kansas City Royals made a magical signing Tuesday, inking infielder Erich Weiss to a minor league contract. The former member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization hasn't shown much on the field during his time in the minors, but he sure does have an interesting name.

Weiss (almost) shares a name with famous illusionist Harry Houdini, the Hungarian magician who was born Erich Weisz. The infielder is just a "Z" away from being baseball's greatest escape artist.

The Royals have signed former Pirates infielder Erich Weiss and assigned him to Omaha, I'm told.
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) July 30, 2019

Despite his fascinating name, Weiss has been highly unexceptional as a player since being promoted to Triple-A in 2018. Over that span, he's appeared in 90 Triple-A games, batting a paltry .230 with 7 home runs.

With Weiss' signing giving him some more exposure, FanGraphs writer Dan Szymborski pointed out a great little nugget from the site's 2018 ZiPS projection:

Speaking of Erich Weiss, I was disappointed nobody noticed this Easter egg in the 2018 ZiPS. pic.twitter.com/VguybS0ODw
— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 30, 2019

Apparently FanGraphs has a sense of humor, naming Weiss' player comparison as famous magician Raymond Teller.

We'd imagine the former 11th-round pick out of Texas has heard enough of the Houdini stuff, though. Now, he needs to improve his on-field performance enough to make his play the main headline.