What His Awful Slump May Mean For Royals Great Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez didn’t play in the Kansas City Royals' game against Detroit on Sunday night. Instead, he watched from Kauffman Stadium's home dugout as their 6-3 loss prevented the Royals from drawing within a game of first place in the American League Central, a position their poor start to the season had rendered almost unthinkable not that long ago.

Whether the Royals would have won Sunday’s game but for Perez’s conspicuous absence will never be known. That he’d hit in the critical cleanup spot in all but one of his 39 appearances this year, and through Sunday was tied for the second-most home runs (five) and third-most RBI (17) on the club, suggests his presence might have made a difference. 

But those counting stats, and where Perez usually bats, don’t tell the whole story. Other important measures of his performance suggest he hits too high in the order, and his impact may, in his 15th big league season, be on the wane.

Those metrics (more on them in a moment) paint the grim picture that the years may be about to overcome and pass the nine-time All-Star by, and that KC fans should enjoy him while they can.

They also raise this question: Should the “Salvador Perez Watch” begin?

Salvador Perez is Slumping Badly With the Royals

Although the bulk of the regular campaign lies ahead, some key metrics prove just how bad Perez's season has been. Through Sunday, and after playing 39 of his team’s 41 games, he was hitting only .182 in 52 plate appearances with runners in scoring position; at .192, his season average wasn't much better. His OPS+ was a dreary 55, his wRC+ a shockingly low and unacceptable 47. 

With a pesky hip issue the apparent culprit, Perez hasn’t caught since May 1 or appeared at first base since the day before that. That manager Matt Quatraro keeps him in the lineup and bats him fourth tends to belie the notion that Perez's hip problem contributes significantly to his hitting woes; nevertheless, entering Tuesday’s series opener against the White Sox in Chicago, he was homerless and slashing .107/.188/.107 since moving exclusively (at least temporarily) to less physically taxing DH duty.

On the brighter side, Perez was hitting .236 over his last 14 games, but that’s still almost 30 points below his .263 career average and hardly provides reason to believe a major turnaround is imminent.

Defensively, his work behind the plate has been serviceable, but falls short of the high expectations his five Gold Gloves create. Yes, he's an outstanding ABS challenger — through Sunday, his 11.9 Overturns vs. Expected ranked fourth among major league catchers, and his 41.2 caught stealing percentage was well above league average. But Perez's blocking remains average at best, and his subpar framing continues. His play at first base hasn't been stellar, but Quatraro has deployed him there only three times this season. 

Is Salvador Perez Nearing the End of his Royals Career?

This is a question frequently posed over the past few seasons. And while Perez eventually answered it with a resounding “No,” he finished the 2025 season with 30 homers and 100 RBI, and the 2024 campaign with 27 homers, 104 RBI, his ninth All-Star berth, and his fifth Silver Slugger — things might be different now.

For one, an obvious heir apparent to Perez has finally emerged. Accustomed to sharing time behind the plate only with backups with no realistic chances of taking his job, Perez must now relinquish more time to Carter Jensen, whose flashy final-month call-up last season yielded a 20-game .300/.391/.550 line and locked in a 2026 big league roster spot. Jensen’s defense has its good and not-so-good components, and as a rookie, he has plenty of time to hone his skills. Offensively, Jensen was leading the club through Sunday in home runs with six and RBI with 18. At least until Royals Keep No. 4 prospect and High-A backstop Blake Mitchell advances far enough to prove otherwise, Jensen is KC’s catcher of the future. 

Then there’s the matter of Perez's contract. Rather than taking the conservative approach by picking up his club option after last season, the Royals gave him a new two-year deal. With much of the money apparently deferred and no apparent club, player, or mutual option at its expiration, the terms hint at the possible end of the road for Perez, which makes sense because he’ll be 38 with 17 major league seasons behind him when the deal ends.

But that hint of things to come isn’t definitive. Things could change. Perez might defy the years once again and merit a shot at playing in 2028. Or his present slump may be the biggest sign yet that retirement is closer than we’d like it to be.

Should the “Salvador Perez Watch” begin? We should know soon enough.