Kansas City Royals fans had no shortage of storylines to follow during the offseason, spring training, and World Baseball Classic (WBC). However, the Royals only have two more spring games before Opening Day on Friday, and veteran catcher Salvador Perez is ready to help the squad return to the promised land.

The 35-year-old talked about the team's excitement for the season on Sunday, via MLB.com's Anne Rogers.

“We can’t wait for Opening Day,” he said. “I know a bunch of people will be in Atlanta. It’s exciting. And we’re going to continue with the same energy. It’s about turning the page and concentrating on helping the Kansas City Royals get back to the playoffs and World Series. That’s the goal. Everything starts right now.”

Perez is coming off a WBC championship with Team Venezuela. The team captain went 1-for-4 with one run scored in the final against Team USA on Tuesday, which Venezuela won 3-2. Meanwhile, Kansas City superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored for the USA.

Additionally, Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning and won WBC MVP honors after the contest. The 26-year-old slashed .385/.393/.577 in the tournament.

After a brief period as rivals, Garcia and Perez are back to being teammates with Witt as well as Team Italy stars Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone. If the five of them play to their full potential this season, Kansas City has a shot to reach the promised land again.

Although Kansas City missed the playoffs in 2025, it has one of the better outlooks in the AL Central. In addition to the aforementioned players, it has a capable pitching staff led by starters Cole Ragans (3.66 career ERA), Michael Wacha (3.89 career ERA), Seth Lugo (4.15 career ERA), Kris Bubic (4.14 career ERA), and Noah Cameron (2.99 ERA as a rookie in 2025). Closer Carlos Estevez led MLB with 42 saves last season, while reliever Lucas Erceg had a 2.64 ERA in 2025 and offseason trade acquisition Matt Strahm had a 2.74 mark.

On top of that, the Royals are in a division without any formidable offensive opponents. The Cleveland Guardians finished 29th in baseball with a .669 OPS last season, the Chicago White Sox were 28th at .675, the Minnesota Twins were tied for 17th at .707, and the Detroit Tigers were 12th at .729. Although Kansas City was 19th at .706, it will be above-average if its players keep playing anything like they did in the WBC.

In addition to Garcia's MVP campaign, Pasquantino had a .970 OPS with three homers and four RBIs while Caglianone had a 1.071 OPS with one home run and four RBIs. Those numbers aren't realistic for a full MLB season, but it shows that they're in good form.

Up next for Kansas City is a spring training game against the Texas Rangers on Monday at 8:05 ET. Its first regular-season contest is on the road against the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.