Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez is day-to-day with mild groin strain
The Kansas City Royals received some positive news on Monday.
Team captain Salvador Perez is dealing with a mild groin injury following a weekend injury against the New York Mets. He is considered day-to-day after undergoing an MRI and further evaluation.
“It was the best result we could’ve hoped for, just a mild groin strain,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Nothing to do with his hip or any other body parts. We were as happy as you could be with that.”
Perez, 33, was injured in Sunday’s series finale at Citi Field. He was involved in a collision at the plate during the fourth inning: Mets outfielder Starling Marte was barreling home, attempting to score from third base.
Marte was thrown out by Royals outfielder MJ Melendez. Perez caught the ball and applied the tag simultaneously.
However, after making the putout, Perez got up with a noticeable limp. He was attended to by members of the Royals’ training staff and walked gingerly back to the dugout. The Royals replaced Perez for the fifth inning, with backup catcher Freddy Fermin entering the game.
The Royals will treat Perez’s injury with caution. He will continue to be evaluated with treatment before returning to the lineup.
“As you know, he wants to play every inning of every game,” Quatraro said. “So, he did want to play today, but we (used) discretion there and gave him a full day of treatment.”
Perez is off to a hot start at the plate this season. He owns a .339 batting average with four home runs and 15 RBIs.
On Saturday, Perez hit his 250th career home run. He became the 12th primary catcher, all-time, to reach the milestone, joining an exclusive list that includes Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Yogi Berra and Mike Piazza.
The Royals have options once Perez is deemed ready to return. He has played multiple positions and can be deployed throughout the lineup.
“We have to take it day-to-day, quite literally, just to see how he wakes up tomorrow and is moving around,” Quatraro said. “And then, we have the options of catching, first base and DH (designated hitter). Just whatever we think is sustainable for him to be back in there as often as possible.”
Fermin got the start at catcher for Monday night’s game against the White Sox. He was hitting .192 (5-for-26) through nine games this season.
