Matt Quatraro Explains What Still Stands Out About Salvador Perez

Longtime catcher Salvador Perez has done just about everything there is to do with the Kansas City Royals, and on Monday he added one more honor to the list.

The Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America handed out the Royals' 2026 team awards, and Perez received the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award for the second time in his career, with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and pitcher Michael Wacha also honored.

Manager Matt Quatraro spoke about all three players, but his words about Perez stood out the most.

Perez just wrapped up his 15th season in the majors, all of them in Kansas City, and at 36 years old he is still finding ways to help the team.

Quatraro started with the way Perez carries himself after all these years.

"For Salvy, all the accomplishments he's had over the years, you [still] see him play with a smile on his face," Quatraro said Monday, per MLB.com's Perla Paredes.

Quatraro added that Perez loves the organization and the city, that he grew up there, and that Witt is the same way.

That means a lot on a team that went through a rough and frustrating 2026 from start to finish.

Kansas City finished 69-93 and fifth in the American League Central, 16 games behind the division-winning Cleveland Guardians, and a season like that can wear on a clubhouse.

Having a player like Perez who still enjoys showing up every day is good for the young players around him.

Perez played in 152 games in 2026 and hit .229 with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs.

His biggest moment came on July 25 at Detroit, when he hit his 318th career home run to pass George Brett for the most in franchise history, and the Royals won that game 3-2.

He later extended that franchise record as the season went on, and he finished the season with 324 career home runs.

The average was low, but the power is still there, and Kansas City signed him to a two-year deal last November that runs through the 2027 season.

He spent much of 2026 at designated hitter, and with talk of moving him there more often, how the Royals split his time will be one of the bigger questions of the winter.

The general manager meetings open this week, and the Royals have work to do after a losing season.

The team awards were a nice way to look back at the good parts of 2026, but the roster still needs help if this team wants to climb back into the race next year.

The regular season opens on March 25 at Kauffman Stadium against the Minnesota Twins, so the front office has a little over four months to reshape this roster.

I think Quatraro is right to point at the smile first, because Perez has given Kansas City plenty of big moments and the way he still plays the game is a good example for every young player on this roster heading into 2027.