A second opinion on the right elbow of Salvador Perez has confirmed the Royals’ worst fears: Perez will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, the team told reporters (Twitter link via Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star). The surgery should put Perez on the shelf for the entirety of the 2019 season.
The Royals first announced that Perez had damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last Friday. The initial recommendation for Perez was Tommy John surgery, though the team first sought a second opinion from renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache before scheduling the procedure.
Perez, 28, is earning $10MM in 2019 as part of a $52.5MM contract extension to which he agreed prior to the 2016 season. He’s also owed $13MM in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons as part of that long-term arrangement.
A six-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger winner and the MVP of the 2015 World Series, Perez has emerged as the face of the Royals’ franchise in recent seasons. Though Kansas City has embarked on a substantial rebuilding effort following its run of prominence (including consecutive World Series appearances in 2014-15), there’s never been any serious indication that the club would give thought to moving Perez.
With Perez on the shelf, the top catchers on the Royals’ depth chart at present are Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria — the former of whom is a .218/.274/.333 hitter in 96 MLB plate appearances and the latter of whom has all of 29 MLB plate appearances. Viloria, in fact, jumped from Class-A Advanced to the Majors last season as a September call-up but still seems years away from legitimate MLB readiness.
Suffice it to say, it’d register as a surprise if the Royals didn’t look to address their catching situation in some fashion following the unwelcome news. Martin Maldonado is the most obvious and straightforward choice: a premier defensive backstop with nearly 2000 Major League plate appearances under his belt who (surprisingly) still remains unsigned. Maldonado was most recently connected to the Mariners, though at the time of that report, Seattle was still wary of giving him a guaranteed 40-man roster spot. Light-hitting as Maldonado may be (.220/.289/.350 in his career), it’s still jarring that a player with his defensive prowess has struggled to find a 40-man spot this winter. The Royals, it now seems, can not only provide that but could also provide a fair bit of playing time as well.
Beyond Maldonado, there’s little in terms of proven assets on the open market, though the Royals could certainly wait until later in Spring Training to see if a veteran on a minor league pact with another club opts out of his deal. Veterans such as Nick Hundley (Athletics), Rene Rivera (Giants), Stephen Vogt (Giants), Matt Wieters (Cardinals), Devin Mesoraco (Mets) and old friend Drew Butera (Phillies) are all in Major League camps as non-roster invitees — but not all will earn a roster spot with his current organization. Alternatively, the Royals could also look to the trade market or waiver wire late in camp as a means of acquiring some additional depth. Notably, the Red Sox have reportedly been exploring deals involving their trio of backstops (Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart).
mikevm3
Don’t want to be a Royals fan right now. Hope they find someone good to fill the gap
ba2929
Team was going to be lucky to win 70 games this year anyway. This just gives us a better chance at the #1 pick.
dugdog83
Just when you thought the Royals had a chance to beat the Tigers for 4th place in the Central
nowheretogobutup
No. 1 picks are over rated
Mystery Team
Tough blow for a 53 year old catcher I hope he can make it back.
Col. Taylor
is that in catcher years ?
Long Duc Dong
Lol his birth certificate says he was not in 1992
Long Duc Dong
Sorry born in 1992
Long Duc Dong
He got it from the same place David Arias got his birth certificate
Mystery Team
Miguel Sano is looking every bit of 35 and he’s supposedly in his mid 20s. Juan Soto is 20 years old and I’m Bill Gates. Albert Pujols? Miguel Tejada?
davidcoonce74
It’s nearly impossible, post 9/11 to forge birth certificates.
Col. Taylor
That sucks for KC… Salvy is a likable player. I recommend a Bourbon based therapy. Worked for me.
Strike Four
Sucks because he’s a great guy but I hope he spends the time learning how to take a walk because he’s embarrassingly bad at getting on base.
davidcoonce74
Kasnsas City seems to have a philosophy that eschews getting on base. It’s like they’re zigging when everyone else is zagging. I’m not sure what kinds of metrics their front office is using to think this is a good idea; the WS teams weren’t constructed like this, but KCs big off-season signings – Hamilton and Gore etc. are guys who can’t get on base. It’s an odd way to construct a team, to say the least.
Bummer about Perez; he’s a great defender even though the bat has been in decline pretty dramatically. I know the “Silver SLugger” award is fairly meaningless, but Perez won it last year – a season in which he batted 235/274/439. An OPS+ of 92. Is the catching situation in the AL so bad that he was really the best-hitting catcher in the league?
jbigz12
Yes. Who else was going to get it? Perez at least hit some Hrs. Narvaez from CWS didn’t have enough Abs and Gary Sanchez was terrible. Robinson Chirnos I guess would’ve been an option but Perez didn’t slash much worse than him and had about 180 more Abs. Or Mitch Garver. But all these guys didn’t have the #of games played or ABS. They were under 400 and Perez had 510 ABS. So i can see it based on sheer volume.
TLB2001
The World Series teams were absolutely structured like this. Tom Verducci must’ve mentioned 3,000 times that we were last in majors in both walks and last in HR during the 2015 playoffs.
davidcoonce74
2015 Royals had four regulars with OBPs over 360 and a fifth- Moustakas – with an OBP of 348. They also had Zobrist, who is an on-base guy, for half the season. Very different than the 2018 Royals, who had exactly one player with an OBP over .350.
TLB2001
Those OBPs were driven by average. Gordon was the only guy on that team that took a lot of walks.
TLB2001
That team walked 383 times, last in the majors by more than 30.
DarkSide830
wonder who goes to the all star game for them this year…and who wins that other catcher spot.
RedSox4Life4ever
Whit Merrifield
DarkSide830
ah, guess that makes sense.
ThisGuy 2
ADALBERTOOOO
andrewgauldin
The loser of the Oakland’s Phegley, Hundley, Herrmann or Boston’s Swihart, Leon, Vasquez to KC?
DarkSide830
swihardt to KC makes sense, though i still don’t see any team but BOS keeping him in the majors for all of a full season.
davidcoonce74
If Mejia can handle the position, the Padres have Hedges, who is kind of like Perez-lite: an elite defensive catcher with some power who can’t get on base. I don’t think they’re going to trade Hedges, but his batting line – 231/282/439 is roughly similar to Perez’s, and Hedges’ 94 OPS+ compares favorably to Perez’s 92.
jbigz12
I don’t see KC trading away future assets for a catcher. Swihart will basically be free but the Padres aren’t giving hedges away. Swihart? Maybe. Hedges? Can’t see it
davidcoonce74
Yeah, that’s a good point. I’m curious about the precedent for catchers coming back from TJ. Perez’s Chief skill is his arm. Without that I wonder what his value is going forward.
Long Duc Dong
Maldonado to the Royals
Long Duc Dong
Told y’all
olsonc26
I hope the rays make a transaction for him. He would be a great option. Rehab and work with our young pitchers.
Thomas Walker
What now? They should trade for an aging, injured and out for the year catcher? To “rehab and work with young pitchers”? You weren’t serious, right?
gleybertorres25
Aging. lol. he’s 28
jbigz12
He’s an old 28. He’s been a big league regular since he’s 22 with one of if not the highest usage % out any catcher since that time. There’s a lot of wear and tear on Sal Perez.
davidcoonce74
Yeah, he has been worked hard for a catcher, and his offense has really declined badly, perhaps because of that. Most catchers aren’t used as much as Perez; the ones like Yadi are real outliers. Perez has always been allergic to ball four, but here’s a sobering fact: in 8 seasons (six full seasons) Sal Perez has drawn 131 walks. Bryce Harper, in 2018, drew 130 walks. As much as I like Perez for his glove, he’s going to have to eventually change his approach if he wants to have a Yadi-like career well into his 30s.
jbigz12
22 bWAR over his career without drawing a walk is pretty damn impressive. He could stand to drop his K’s a bit and take some more walks but even Yadier isn’t some walk machine. Most catchers aren’t and that’s fine. I haven’t looked but his 92 OPS+ is probably league average for a catcher anyway. Perez will be able to stick around as long as the skills don’t decline any further. Cut the K’s down and take a couple more pitches and he should be at least a part time catcher for a long time if he wants to be. Might do him a lot of good offensively to actually have a backup who spells him. Give him 4 starts a week instead of the 5-6 he always logs.
Chris Lee
Ned the former catcher cannot control himself. He has just kept penciling Salvy in day after day. Excuse was Salvy wants to catch every day. Salvy’s numbers always drop as the year progresses. This isn’t rocket science. Everyone loves Salvy, but some days off would help him.
davidcoonce74
Yep, most players want to play every day. The manager’s job is to, you know, manage. That means occasionally sitting your starting catcher, even against his objections. Making the tough decisions is what a manager is supposed to do.
stgpd
Too bad. Hope he has a successful recover. It could be a dreadful season in KC
julyn82001
Tremendous player! Huge blow! Hope he comes back stronger.
Emerson83
As a royals fan, I would be more interested in seeing what meibrys Viloria can do than see a declining salvy on a non contender
Binnington50
Whoever loses out as Molina’s backup between Peña and Wieters could take the 3 1/2 hour trip west on I-70 straight to Kansas City.
gleybertorres25
They’ll probably take a plane since they’ll be going from Florida
Binnington50
Unless the back up catcher is one of the last cuts made to get down to 25 men on the roster. The Cardinals don’t go from Florida straight to St. Louis. They go from Florida to Memphis to play a game. Then they have a couple of days off. Other than that, good thought.
Vedder80
It will be Pena. He is likely out for a few weeks though, so his nonexistent bat is likely to be even worse.
Matt Galvin
Bryan Pena or so on former Royal who is retired that has played in this decade? Butera best choice.
cleribe
I’m wondering why they would go out and spend on a replacement when they are nowhere near contending.
Shouldn’t they just let it ride?
rmullig2
When you don’t have a catcher then you tend to wind up with an excessive number of wild pitches.
khopper10
Nice. Or would they be passed balls?
MrMet33
Surprised d’Arnaud isn’t mentioned. Can see the Mets preferring to keep Mesoraco and moving d’Arnaud for a guy like Staumont or Lovelady.
Royalsfan456
Lol. Brian Flynn might be a more realistic return
phenomenalajs
Agreed. Royals could watch one catcher return from TJ to get an idea how to work with Salvy next year. I would love to see my Mets do this.
Bjoe
Not getting Staumont or Lovelady for d’Arnaud…..
RiseAgainst3598
well darn there goes his streak of 27 homer 80 RBI 17 walk seasons.
RiseAgainst3598
And 129 games played and 1 stolen base and 5 sacrifice flies. This is one consistent dude.
Solar Flare
As well as .sub .300 on base percentage.
todd76
Bad times for Royals fans. Hard to believe their fall from grace with 2 World Series appearances in the last 5 years.
Yankeedynasty
Now who’s the all star catcher
jbigz12
Gary Sanchez if he can remember how to play catcher.
Solar Flare
That’s the problem, I fear that he’ll never figure it out defensively.
bush5104
Anyone else find the irony in the doctors name (Dr ElAttache, intentionally misspelled before you trolls leap) who is legitimately re‘attach’ing his elbow together.
aj_54
This is beyond science
bobtillman
The answer to all these questions is…… Blake Swihart.
Who’ll be the All Star Catcher? Swihart.
Who will KC get? Swihart. (for Merrifield of course) .
See how easy it is…….
Ketch
Blake Swihart for Kyle Zimmer
nowheretogobutup
Sal your in our prayers for a speedy recovery, this franchise needs you back badly
ken48tribe
Sal has been the heart and soul of the Royals for a number of years. As an Indians fan who has watched and admired him, I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.
canocorn
Sal for President.
pullhitter445
The AL central is so bad. The twins, white Sox, tigers, and royals all are horrible teams.
OilCanLloyd
Jays could spare Luke Maile. He’s trending in right direction and controllable for four.