Perez was held out of Saturday's lineup for a second consecutive game as he nurses elbow soreness.
For the second straight game, the Kansas City Royals did not start catcher Salvador Perez as he tends to a sore left elbow. Although they made a recent move to tend to the catcher position, the Royals do not seem concerned with the extent of Perez’s elbow.
Before Saturday’s game, Royals manager Matt Quatraro noted that Perez is feeling better today, as he experienced more range of motion and a lot less discomfort on the elbow. But for precautionary reasons, the team decided to sideline him once more.
“We just decided to give him today to hopefully get that much more progress going into tomorrow,” Quatraro said, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com.
Though unlikely, Perez could come off the bench on Saturday in a pinch-hit situation if needed. Carter Jensen, who hit a long homer in his last game, will start behind the plate on Saturday and Starling Marte will be the designated hitter.
Perez’s elbow discomfort was initially shared on Thursday, which held him out of the team’s series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. That day, Quatraro shared that Perez came in on Wednesday with soreness and played through it, but opted to sit him the next day and provide the team with protection at the position. An unusual off day on Friday also gave him additional rest.
In the wake of Perez’s injury, the Royals opted to select catcher Luke Maile from Triple-A Omaha, giving them three catchers on the active roster. The plan is for Maile to back up Jensen until Perez is healthy enough to return to the position.
The update provided from Quatraro is a promising one, but the return of Perez comes with the uncertainty of his production levels. Now in his 15th season, Perez has struggled immensely at the plate in 2026.
The longtime Royals catcher is hitting just .201 this season and has lost his feel for power over his last 30 games. In that span, Perez has hit just two home runs, totaling 10 in total this season thus far.
On the field, Perez has primarily seen time at catcher, playing in parts of 38 games at the position. He has split time there and at designated hitter, but has also seen some action at first base. Prior to the injury, Perez had played four of his last five games at first base.
Jensen, a rookie, has seen the most time at catcher. Prior to Saturday’s contest, he has been thriving at the plate and is finally breaking out, as he is hitting .361 with five home runs over his last 15 games.
