Salvador Perez Fantasy Stats

Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez (elbow) is serving as the team's designated hitter and is batting sixth versus the visiting Philadelphia Phillies and right-hander Aaron Nola in the series finale at Kauffman Stadium, according to MLB.com. A sore elbow has kept Perez out for each of the last two games, but he'll return for the series finale in KC. The 36-year-old Venezuelan backstop is running out of steam offensively in his 15th year in the majors (all with the Royals), as he enters Sunday's contest with a .201/.241/.327 slash line with a career-worst .568 OPS, 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and 29 runs scored across his 81 games (340 plate appearances). Fantasy managers may want to keep Perez on the bench until he shows some signs of life at the plate. In eight career at-bats against Nola, Perez is hitting .250 with an .875 OPS, a home run, and three RBI. Perez has five hits in his last 35 plate appearances with two doubles, two RBI, a run scored, no walks, and 12 strikeouts across nine games played.

Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez (elbow) remains out of the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, according to MLB.com. Carter Jensen is doing the catching for right-hander Michael Wacha and will hit leadoff against Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo. It's the second straight game that Perez will sit due to soreness in his left elbow. It's not expected to be a serious injury, so fantasy managers could have the veteran backstop back on the field for Sunday's series finale at Kauffman Stadium. The 36-year-old nine-time All-Star might be on his last legs in his 15th year in the majors, as he enters play on Saturday sporting a rough .201/.241/.327 slash line with a career-low .568 OPS, 10 homers, 30 RBI, and 29 runs scored in his 81 games and 340 plate appearances. Since the start of June, he's gone 18-for-96 (.188) with a homer, four doubles, five RBI, eight runs scored, one walk, and 21 strikeouts.

Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez (elbow) is out of Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays due to a sore left elbow, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Carter Jensen is doing the catching for right-hander Stephen Kolek and will bat leadoff for the Royals, with outfielder Starling Marte serving as the designated hitter and batting fifth against Rays right-hander Ian Seymour. The Royals called up catcher Luke Maile from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday, which could suggest that Perez's injury is enough to sideline him into the weekend and potentially land him on the injured list heading into the All-Star break. The aging Venezuelan backstop could probably use some time off, though, as he's hitting just .201/.241/.327 on the year with a career-worst .568 OPS, 10 homers, 30 RBI, 29 runs, and a 20.3% strikeout rate in his 340 plate appearances. In 23 games in June, Perez really struggled, going 18-for-96 (.188) with a homer, four doubles, five RBI, eight runs scored, one walk, and 21 strikeouts.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth for the Royals on Tuesday against the visiting Texas Rangers and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi at Kauffman Stadium, per MLB.com. Perez will return to the starting nine after missing the last two games with a minor thumb injury. The 15-year Venezuelan veteran has been a stalwart for the Royals in his long tenure with the team, but the veteran catcher has shown clear signs of decline so far in 2026 with a weak .204/.254/.345 slash line, career-worst .599 OPS, nine home runs, 26 RBI, 22 runs scored, 12 walks, and 49 strikeouts in 256 plate appearances over his 61 games played. Additionally, he's hitting .190 with a .428 career OPS and just one RBI in 21 at-bats versus Eovaldi. Fantasy managers may want to keep Perez on their benches, even though he's back from injury. In 16 games since May 18, Perez has gone 12-for-59 (.203) with two homers, a double, six RBI, five runs, five walks, and eight K's.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) is sitting out of Sunday's game against the division-rival Minnesota Twins for the second straight day as he deals with a right-thumb injury that he suffered on a wild pitch that hit him on Friday, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Perez is dealing with some swelling in his thumb, but the Royals are hopeful that he'll be feeling back to normal by Tuesday's contest against the Texas Rangers, according to manager Matt Quatraro. Carter Jensen is doing the catching on Sunday for left-hander Noah Cameron and will bat eighth against Twins rookie Connor Prielipp. Perez, 36, is starting to slow down offensively in his 15th year in the big leagues. The nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner enters Sunday's action batting just .204 (48-for-235) with nine home runs, 26 RBI, and 22 runs scored, and durability will likely continue to be an issue as he nears the end of his amazing MLB career.

Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro is unsure if catcher Salvador Perez (hip) will catch this weekend in the series against the division-rival Detroit Tigers because he's still nursing a sore hip, according to Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star. "I don't think so. I think we want to take it cautiously. But we're talking to him every day. But for right now, that wouldn't be my plan," Quatraro said. Perez's hip soreness isn't serious enough to keep him out of the lineup, though, as he's serving as the designated hitter and is batting cleanup for Thursday's series finale against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Slade Cecconi. The 35-year-old veteran is hitting just over the Mendoza Line on the year, but of late, he's gone 13-for-44 (.295) with two home runs, two doubles, 11 RBI, and eight runs scored in his last 11 games since April 25. Durability is going to be an issue for the aging Venezuelan, and he could require more DH days throughout the year in his 15th year in the big leagues.

Kansas City Royals catcher/designated hitter Salvador Perez could be turning things around after a slow start to the season. The veteran backstop is 6-for-15 (.400) over his last three games, including a pair of home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored. The nine-time All-Star is hitting just .196 through 28 games, even after the recent hot streak, and with just a 3.4 percent walk rate, his on-base percentage sits at a paltry .229. With a .254 wOBA and 52 wRC+ on the season, the 35-year-old has been a disappointment for fantasy, and with a noticeable dip in bat speed, from 64th percentile in 2025 to 39th percentile in 2026, there may be cause for concern, but he's coming off a 30-home run campaign while producing similar contact, strikeout, and barrel rates, so fantasy managers should exercise patience with the five-time Silver Slugger award winner.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) took live batting practice on Monday during the team's full-squad workout in camp, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Perez appears to be fully healthy at spring training after injuring his thumb in the offseason while playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. Despite being long in the tooth, Perez managed to reach the 30-homer mark for just the second time in his career in 2025 in his 14th season in the big leagues. He reached the 100-RBI mark for just the third time in his career and for the second straight season. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star hit a career-low .236, though. The Royals split Perez's playing time between catcher, first base, and designated hitter to try to keep him fresh, and the expectation is that this will continue in 2026, with Carter Jensen ready to take on a bigger catching role. Perez can still be productive in fantasy, but he's more of a low-end starting catcher now than a high-end one.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez continues to display impressive power heading into his age-35 season. The veteran backstop slugged 30 home runs across 155 games last year; that home run total was higher than his total from each of the three previous seasons. Power is Perez's primary calling card at this point in his career, as he also posted a suboptimal 4.4% walk rate, 19.5% strikeout rate, and 95 wRC+ along with -8.2 fWAR at the plate and -8.7 fWAR in the field. He made 38 appearances as the Royals' designated hitter, 30 at first base, and 92 behind the dish. He played replacement-level defense at first, but he offered a worrisome -7.6 FRM at catcher. FanGraphs still projects Perez as the Royals' Opening Day catcher, but we wouldn't be surprised to see him spend more time at first base and designated hitter while a depth option -- presumably, rookie Carter Jensen -- straps on the gear. Regardless of where Perez plays defensively, we expect his power to carry over from last year, keeping him on the fantasy radar in most leagues. He currently ranks as the #9 catcher in RotoBaller's latest fantasy baseball draft rankings.

The Kansas City Royals announced on Tuesday that they agreed to a two-year contract extension with veteran catcher Salvador Perez through the 2027 season. The deal is worth $25 million. Before the extension, Perez had a $13.5 million team option for the 2026 campaign. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star showed his age by hitting .236 (141-for-597) in 2025, but he still managed to reach the 30-homer mark for just the second time in his career while driving in 100 runs for the third time in his career and in back-to-back seasons. The Venezuelan backstop is heading into his 15th MLB campaign, and while he still has plenty of fantasy value at a weak position because of his power and run-producing ability, injuries will be a concern, and fantasy managers will no longer be able to count on a high batting average.