The Royals announced that they signed catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year contract that includes three club options. Perez will earn a guaranteed $7MM over the course of the five-year contract, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links). The Morgan Advisory Group client could earn as much as $26.75MM if he maxes out his incentives and the Royals pick up all three options. Dutton has the yearly breakdown (Twitter links).
The deal buys out Perez's three pre-arbitration seasons and two of his seasons of arbitration eligibility. The Royals have options for his final season of arbitration eligibility and for his first two free agent seasons.
Perez debuted with the Royals last year, appearing in 39 games. The 21-year-old posted a .331/.361/.473 line in 158 plate appearances, adding 13 extra base hits. Before getting called up to Kansas City, Perez posted a .290/.331/.437 line in the upper minors and prevented 46% of stolen base attempts against him.
Perez joins Matt Moore and Evan Longoria, who also signed extensions before notching their first full year of MLB service time. The two Rays players also signed deals that include three club options. There's not much recent precedent for extensions involving pre-arbitration eligible catchers, as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows.
GM Dayton Moore locked Joakim Soria up before the closer had two years of service time in a similarly motivated extension. The Royals obtained three club options on that deal as well.
LOL – THAT WAS IT?
Disappointing.
This is not “major” in any conceivable sense of the word.
Potentially extending a player for eight years isn’t major? Ok then.
Potentially extending a player for eight years isn’t major? Ok then.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of signing unproven young guys to long term deals before they ever play a full season. But to put this out there as a “major announcement”? I think we need to put things in perspective. Pujols was a major announcement. Prince was a major announcement. Salvador Perez? He very well might be good, maybe even very good some day. Right now, however, I don’t think this is a major announcement.
Hey, its MAJOR for us. Got to start somewhere, lol!
Pujols and Prince transcend “major.” Signing a 21-year-old to an eight-year deal is major. How often does this happen? Just because it’s a pre-arb guy on a small market team doesn’t make it major for them.
The ROYALS said they’d be having a major announcement, not MLBTR. You don’t think the KC front office thinks this is a major move?
If it were Eric Hosmer, I doubt people would be so cynical.
Only in the age of ESPN and 24 hour news cycles would an acceptable response be that the Pujols and Prince deals “transcended major,” rather than just being major in and of themselves. Regardless, this kid signed 5 guaranteed years, not 8. He’s got $7 mil guaranteed, which I imagine is barely above the minimums that he would have earned had he simply made the roster for the next 5 years. I think rookie minimum is approaching $500,000. I think this announcement and this deal is interesting. I think it’s an exciting announcement. I think it’s intriguing (based on the number of comments on this thread). But I don’t think it’s major. MorneauVP, are you using a pseudonym? Are you actually Salvador Perez?
I for one think this is an “exciting” announcement. As a Royals fan, this will be as vital to this team as the Rays signing Longoria. Is it is a “Major” announcement to everyone in baseball? I don’t really care….
I think this is a major announcement. For Royals fans in the know, this kid will be the best catcher in the game in the next 2 years
Somewhat disappointing.
Not to a Royals fan. The kid if he hits at all he WILL be an All Star.
He’s good, but it was built up a little.
I agree. What will it be called if Hosmer gets signed sometime? Won’t be able to put it into words….
Haa it will be what ESPN called Alabama vs LSU during the regular season…seriously happy for Royals & their fans. Moore is trying to turn it around. Visited Kaufman last year, great park. SF Giants fans support you guys!
:::crickets:::
this cant be it……….
wow.major.
for how long?
Haven’t been this disappointed since the Flyers didn’t make a SINGLE move today at the trade deadline…
Same with the Wings. I guess we’re waiting for free agency.
I wanted Nash (Ok, this is the last NHL comment I make on a baseball forum)!
That’s funny, because I wanted Nash!
The NHL? I thought they folded years ago…
Talk about anti-climatic
Not to Royals fans. Also, check your spelling.
Freaking A! I was gonna spell it anti-climactic but wasn’t sure, then I started typing it into google and predictive whatever spelled out “anti-climatic” so I used that instead
google, I blame you!
Really??? Freaking really??? Wow and I was on the edge of my seat and everything!
Is an Alex Gordon overpay really more exciting then this? What were you expecting?
1st question: yes
2nd question: royals have money. the possibilities are endless. oswalt maybe.
random note: dig the name.
1st question: yes
2nd question: royals have money. the possibilities are endless. oswalt maybe.
random note: dig the name.
This guy is something special. People may think “that was it?” now, but if this same prospect was a Yankee, they’d be praising the signing. Great move by the Royals
Was never a top 100 prospect and has a career OPS of 725 in the minors. He’s young and had a solid debut in a quarter of his season but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
As for it being a “great move” how do you know? I’ve yet to see any contract details. It could be a great deal if they locked him up for super cheap AND he plays well. But those are two pretty big ifs.
It will be similar to the deal that Soria got from the Royals which was a steal for the Royals. Will keep him cheap when some of our other players get real expensive. KC fans recognize how good he is even if other team’s fans don’t.
OK – so now we have the details.
If they had done nothing he would earned a total of $1.5m for the first 3 years. They are essentially signing him to a 2/$5.5m deal. If his options aren’t exercised then he will be arb eligible in his last year.
I’ll stand by my earlier statement – it’s an OK deal. Sure if he is the 2nd coming of Mike Piazza it will be a steal. For just an average type catcher it’s pretty typical in terms of cost. To put it in perspective Mike Napoli earned $5.6m during his first 2 arb seasons. Molina earned $5.1 during his first two years. Another comp would be Iannetta – he pulled down $4m over the same time period.
I don’t see why everyone is getting so excited about this. As for people who have seen him play … give me a break. He played in 1/4 of one season. We have over 1300 PA’s in the minors to really evaluate him with. During that time he was solid but unremarkable. I’ll say it again, he wasn’t a top prospect, he had good numbers in the minors (considering his age). He was paid approximately the same as Napoli and Molina (2 incredibly solid catchers). I just don’t see why this is some amazing deal. Maybe the kid turns out to be the real deal. In which case the Royals maybe save a few million. If he turns out like most catchers this will be a slight overpay. Not a bad move – just not some amazing move either.
Again….you’re spouting off like a guy who knows baseball from the stat sheet. ANYONE who’s seen Sal play, knows how great this was. His defense is amazing, pitchers LOVE throwing to him. Oh, and he hit a bit too.
There’s more to baseball than comparing stats. And I’ll say it again…there’s more to evaluating a catcher than OPS. Far more.
He picks off nearly half of his base runners. I saw him pick two guys off first base in his first game. The fact he will be a Royal for the next 8 years is great for us. I freaking love this guy. He and Hosmer will be the cornerstones of this franchise for the next 5 years.
Catchers aren’t measured solely by offensive numbers. See Yadier Molina.
Royals fans (and those fans of opposing teams who saw him play) know how special this kid is.
Having seen him play, I think that he is going to be special.
Relatively low-risk, could be a huge reward. If he absolutely tanks, the Royals cost themselves about $5MM over five years.
If he ends up anywhere near a league-average catcher before he reaches arbitration, the Royals made out like bandits. If he is league-average by the time arb hits, it’s still a pretty good deal.
If he becomes an above-average player any time during this contract, it’s a steal. Even if he holds up his end of the bargain defensively, it’s a steal.
Love the upside of this deal…not a Royals fan, but this is a solid move that any organization should be commended for making.
FYI, a league-average catcher had a .704 OPS last season. It’s not out of this world to believe a 21-year-old catcher that’s playing in leagues with older average ages can improve upon his minor league slash line.
-C
Hahahahahahahaha HUGE news
This will be a day long remembered…for something else.
what exactly?
Day’s not over.
This is major?
who?
It doesn’t get any bigger than this!
Hahahahahaha. Major announcement = Salvador Perez multiyear contract.
…if that’s major, what does Hosmer’s extension (if and when he gets one) translate to?
EDIT: Daaaang that’s not a bad contract for KC. Even if he has only one solid tool right now, if he proves he can hit long term instead of over the course of a month, this will be a steal.
Hahahahahaha. Major announcement = Salvador Perez multiyear contract.
…if that’s major, what does Hosmer’s extension (if and when he gets one) translate to?
EDIT: Daaaang that’s not a bad contract for KC. Even if he has only one solid tool right now, if he proves he can hit long term instead of over the course of a month, this will be a steal.
Hosmer extension = life altering
Hosmer extension = life altering
Pretty bold
Pretty bold
At the age of 21, Salvadore Perez is already one of the best defensive catchers in the majors. I know some of you won’t believe it but he is. Been compared to Sandy Alomar. Ned Yost LOVES him.
C_mon.. As an Indians fan, I’ve watched him play several times. He doesn’t give away at bats..knows the strike zone and hits the ball where it’s pitched. Not a small feat for a kid his age.. He has solid defensive fundamentals & great feet for a catcher. w/ pitches in the dirt and he’s fundamentally sound enough and quick enough to get in front of the ball and keep it softly deadened in front of him.. This is more than just a good/cheap signing. The signing of this guy is a foundation builder for the Royals..
And there’s an educated Indians fan. Everyone is talking about how Detroit will be the team that threatens the Royals chances to win the division this year. I firnly believe it will be a rcae between the Indians and the Royals, and it will stay that way for the next several years. And the Indians may have a slight edge, because they are about one year ahead of KC on a very similar influx of talented young players.
indians dont have nearly the talent that the royals have. royals have an amazingly deep bullpen and the rotation is just starting to develop. royals have legit hitters indians have santana, asdrubal cabrera and choo if he rebounds and maybe kipnis..royals have hosmer prolly best all around 1B when you factor in steals, wil myers, lorenzo cain, alcides escobar (defense key with those last ones) Salvador perez solid hitter and pudge esque defense, alex gordon is performing similar to choo, moustakas could develop…royals own in 2 yrs..tigers get it this yr and next
Whats with the hate everyone? He is an up and coming catcher who has hitting tools and a good arm. I don’t know the dollar figures yet but as long as it’s very cheap witch it obviously is going to be this will look like a fantastic deal in a few years.I’m counting on him to make everyone who said “who?” on this post look like they don’t know everything like they believe.
MLBTEASERUMORS
that said, I do like Perez a lot
I don’t know why people are freaking out. It’s potentially an 8 year deal for a guy with limited MLB service. This is big news.
I assume people were expecting Hosmer.
Phew! Good thing they did that. I already had him penciled in as the 20-something starting catcher for the Yankees!
When will people cut it out with this kind of comment?
When the Yankees run out of money so maybe the year 3000? 3200? around then. Which should be likely around the same time Mo retires.
Name the last player the Yankees have signed away from the Royals.
It was actually Aaron Guiel. Before that Chili Davis.
Crazy huh?
You’re just going to have to wait then…
i’m bored
He also reached Triple-A as a 20-21 year old… looking specifically at his minor league stats isn’t really a great way to judge his hitting ability/ceiling when he’s playing at such an advanced level for his age.
There’s a Canadian kid in currently Dunedin named “Brett” that has a bone to pick with you…
5 years -15 million + club options with AAV of 10M would be nice.
So 8 years 45M. Not too shabby at all. Requires work on his defense but his bat is good.
it will be much less. awesome deal if he pans out
Requires work on his defense? Did you watch any Royals games last season? His defense is why he got called up at age 21…the hitting was a bonus.
uh…
This isn’t a bad deal. It could be a great deal
up to 8 years/26.75 million with only 5 million guaranteed? Yeah good deal Royals. Teams need to do this type of deal more often.
This deal is CHEAP! 7 mil over 5 years plus the club options? Top number one draft picks were getting this much without ever stepping on a major league field.
8 years of Perez is MAYBE going to cost the same as 1 year of A-rod baseball is a funny sport.
Just seven million dollars! 750+ OPS and 46% catching rate is totally worth it.
I guess Albert Pujols’ contract was a side note of the offseason then.
Wow… what a deal for Kansas City. Well done Dayton Moore (don’t get to say that after too many of his contracts)
This is big news in the sense that the Royals are even more dumb than we all thought. They extended a guy that played in 39 games in his career for another 5 years, $7m per.
Except if you had bothered to actually read before posting you’d notice that it’s 7M total over 5 years, not 7M per.
Trust me, the Yankees WISHED they had this guy. The most under rated prospect that made it to the majors last year. Should of been a top 10 prospect, but he advanced so quickly he flew under the radar.
Typical Yankees fan. $7 million total.
Of course money means nothing you your organization. Despite the fact that your team made some of the worst signings in baseball history, you come here and bash something you know nothing about.
TROLOLOL. -Dayton Moore
Says a Pirates fan Lol
Forgot the rule that says I’m not allowed to make a joke unless my team is great, I’ll remember that for the next time…
I just think it’s hilarious that they would pre-hype an announcement and while most people would think Gordon or Hosmer, they extend a little-known pre-arb player. It will actually be a fantastic deal if he keeps playing solid D and at least maintains some of that offense, but I just found it funny.
Dear Pirates fan.. this IS a big deal.. and it IS a major announcement. Salvador Perez was perhaps the best young catcher in the AL last year. He is cat quick behind the plate (even for a guy his size), has an accurate cannon for an arm and is mature beyond his years. This is the kind of player a team can build a foundation on.. As far as the hype machine is concerned..if it’s good publicity or bad publicity, it’s publicity, none the less.. (ahh.. learned something new there?)
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say Carlos Santana.
Seems to me like a pretty sturdy limb.
Oh, more like a forest.
Alex Avila.
JP Arencibia.
Even Jesus Montero…
And that’s exactly why it is so exciting, because he’s going to be better than all of them. And I’m not exaggerating. I know those are very good players. This is the equivalent of signing Pudge Rodriguez as a rookie to an 8 year contract.
Now that that problem is solved, and his teammates see the Royals are serious about the next 8 years, look for other youngsters to follow suit. If you don’t closely follow the Royals, you don’t understand. And that’s just fine. I’ll predict right here, right now, the Royals are in more World Series in the next 10 years than any other team in baseball.
I’m going to predict, right here, right now, that Salvador Perez will not equate to Pudge Rodriguez over his career.
Can’t go wrong with a maximum AAV of less than 3.5MM for a potentially 8 year contract. Good move Royals.
If Sal hits at merely an average clip for a catcher, with his defensive and game-calling abilities, this deal turns out to be an excellent, excellent signing. Well done, Dayton. Next up: Gordon.
After Gordon proves last year wasn’t a fluke…so sometime in November sounds right.
Those bringing up his minor league numbers, thanks.
Now wanna pay attention to the major league numbers?
Was up 39 games.
.331 avg. .474 SLG .834 OPS +128 OPS plus.
Kid hit like a freak in September too. Great news.
Lol.. lets discount a longer track record in the minors and concentrate on a 39 game majors sample where he was hot. MLB is a piece of cake.
His defensive skills/upside are what has the team excited. Anything he does with the bat is a bonus.
Still have to do something with the bat. Jeff Mathis is a great defensive catcher, yet he really isnt a major leaguer.
He’d probably have to try to suck on purpose to be as bad as Mathis offensively. .260-.270 with some pop and great D and this contract is a bargain. If he becomes more than that offensively it’s a steal.
His defensive skills/upside are what has the team excited. Anything he does with the bat is a bonus.
Great deal Royals! Love seeing small market teams locking up talented guys, even if it’s for 2 FA years. Now get Hosmer, Moose, and Escober locked up to similar deals!!!
In his debut game he nearly picked off the Rays for the cycle, just missing a runner at 2nd base. Yeah, I’d say he’s special.
In his debut game he nearly picked off the Rays for the cycle, just missing a runner at 2nd base. Yeah, I’d say he’s special.
If i remember right, he debuted close to when they were playing the tigers and he absolutely killed us that series.
At first I was like “WHO?” But then researched it and this seems like a great move for the Royals. Just not a front-page type of headline in the baseball world
Ill disagree. I’ve seen the kid play in the minors and hes pretty special. Might not have the numbers you’d like on paper, but I will say that he will no doubt have multiple AS appearances and gold gloves. I think his hitting skills will be about .270 or so, but his main skill will be behind the plate and the way he calls games.
Might not seem like a big deal for someone that isnt a Royals fan, or someone that hasnt even seen him play, but its definitely great for the Royals. At least watch the guy play before you downplay him.
JUST BREAKING NOW:
ROYALS NEWS CONFERENCE; 2ND LEVEL WASHROOM AT KAUFFMAN NOW BACK IN ORDER AFTER 15 MINUTE SHUT DOWN FOR EMERGENCY MOP UP
MUCH better catcher than Montero ever thought about being. If Montero was half the catcher Perez is they NEVER would of traded him for any price.
His bat improved each year in the minors. He’s barely old enough to drink and he is the best C prospect in the game.
Guess I will summarize with one last comment. If you are building your fantasy baseball team, your first choice might not be Perez, yet. If you are an actual MLB team, and you have Perez on your team, you are the luckiest team in the league. Even more so when you consider he has already worked with the glut of top pitching prospects bubbling up through the Royals farm system, and had 39 games last year to get to know the league and the Royals pitching staff.
Yost commented last year after his first game up teams will have to change the way they run on the Royals because of Perez. Fastest release speed in baseball (Could be a pitcher).
In his first mlb game against Tampa picked off two players and almost a third. About the only time you can get a stolen base on him is if the pitchers did not get it in a decent place for him to throw or they stole the base more from the pitcher timing then the catcher.
I think you going to see some more signings like this the next couple of years for the royals to build a solid team around Hosmer and Moose so when it come time for them to get their money they will have tothink about staying with royals before bolting for big market teams.
I absolutely love Salvy, but these projections are getting out of control