Henry Roldán
As if Salvador Perez’s season couldn’t get any more complicated than it already is, the Kansas City Royals’ catcher will now miss a good chunk of playing time.
As announced this Friday by the organization itself, the Venezuelan player was placed on the 10-day injured list and will undergo surgery to repair the ulnar ligament in his left thumb that was aggravated on June 22 in a game against the Anaheim Angelinos.
It is worth remembering that Salvador Pérez had already been on the injured list during the month of May due to the same problem, which he suffered after taking a swing in an engagement.
Perez did not play on Wednesday as he was waiting for the results of the MRI, which showed that he needed to undergo surgery.
Although the Royals did not give an estimated recovery time, the statement noted that they expected their star catcher to return this season.
Until the return of the experienced player, the Royals will have rookie M.J. Melendez at catcher, while Cam Gallagher will be the second-inning catcher.
Salvador Perez’s 2022 Season in Numbers
After setting a catcher’s home run record last season with 48 and leading all Major Leagues in home runs and runs batted in with 121, Salvador Perez’s performance this year was far from those numbers.
Depleted by physical discomfort and the Royals’ poor overall performance, in 57 games the 32-year-old shortstop barely registered a .211/.254/.680 offensive line with 11 home runs, 34 runs batted in and a K/BB ratio of 65/9.
That underperformance also contributed to Kansas City’s terrible season; the Royals are now one of the worst teams in the Major Leagues at 25-43, sitting at the bottom of the American League Central Division, 12.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians.
Perez has participated in seven All-Star Games and has won the Gold Glove five times and the Silver Bat four times.
